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Sex offenses up at NIU, security report says
Last updated on 00/00/0000 at 12:00 a.m.
There were more forcible sex offenses in 2007 than the previous year, according to NIU’s annual security report.
The Clery Act 2008 Security Report, released Monday, details that 17 forcible sex offenses took place in 2007, while six occurred in 2006 and seven in 2005. Forcible sex offenses, according to the report, are any sexual act directed against another person who is not consenting, or cannot give consent.
In addition, there was a noticeable drop in the number of arrests for liquor law violations, while in 2007, referrals increased. In 2007, there were 50 arrests and 441 referrals for liquor law violations, compared to 123 arrests and 532 referrals in 2006 and 57 arrests and 338 referrals in 2005.
Despite the increase, Elizabeth Walker, sophomore arts major, said she felt safe on campus.
“It can be seen as a big number, but that’s not considering how many people go to this school,” Walker said.
University Police Chief Donald Grady said the department takes sexual assaults very seriously and investigates every one of them. However, Grady said the numbers in the report sometimes do not reflect reality.
“Even if it’s determined that the offense didn’t happen, it still shows up in the report,” Grady said.
Grady said the UP works with the Division of Student Affairs, Housing and Dining and other university offices to prevent sexual assaults and other crimes. One program in particular is an alcohol training program.
“Every single sexual assault we’ve had on campus in the last seven years has been alcohol or drug-related,” Grady said.
He added that the department runs education programs for both men and women.
Brian Hemphill, executive vice president of Division of Student Affairs, said in an e-mail the division has been working to “create a climate where victims are supported and are increasingly willing to report sexual assaults.”
“Student Affairs has implemented or enhanced a significant number of educational programs since 2006, increasing campus awareness of and the opportunities and contacts/channels for reporting sexual assaults,” Hemphill said.
Some of these programs include having national speakers address the topic, increased participation in organizations such as Men Against Sexual Interpersonal Violence and campus-wide programs like Take Back the Night.
Grady said there are some factors that the UP cannot influence. One such factor is NIU’s population change every year. With the influx of new students, there are different values and attitudes, Grady said, and those can lead to different tendencies for crime.
“There are so many variables it’s difficult to determine why there are so many sexual assaults in a year,” Grady said.
Hemphill said the results of the report may be misleading.
“The increase in the number of reports does not necessarily reflect an increase in the number of assaults,” Hemphill said. “We believe the increase in reported sexual assaults is due to creating a culture where victims are more aware of their resources and are increasingly willing to report the incident.”
There are also different factors for the number of liquor violations as well. Grady said the department had fewer officers on staff at the beginning of last year. With 62 sworn police officers on staff this year, the number of alcohol violations might rise.
The annual security report is required by the Clery Act, a federal law that requires public and a majority of private colleges to report crimes on their campuses to the Department of Education for purposes of publishing.
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