COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State University released its annual report of data for crimes that happened on or near the Columbus campus for 2022.
According to the school, most crime categories saw modest changes – going up or down slightly. The data aligns more closely to pre-COVID data in 2019.
The annual crime report includes statistics from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2021 as part of compliance with the Clery Act.
The act requires higher learning institutions that receive federal funding to publish an annual security report by Oct. 1 each year.
This requirement includes incidents that happened on campus, in non-campus university buildings or property owned or controlled by Ohio State or its recognized students organizations and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to, and accessible from campus.
The report says campus rape, fondling, dating violence and domestic violence were all down in 2022 while campus burglary, robbery and aggravated assault increased last year.
- Campus rape in residence facility: 86 (down from 94)
- Fondling: 53 (down from 79)
- Dating violence: 22 (down from 34)
- Domestic violence: 9 (down from 14)
- Campus burglary: 62 (up from 44)
- Robbery: 11 (up from 8)
- Aggravated assault: 14 (up from 11)
- Stalking: 70 (up from 68)
- Motor theft vehicles: 26 (down from 29)
University officials say they believe that an increase in construction site thefts contributed to the rise in campus burglaries.
In September, Ohio State announced more efforts to enhance safety and security resources on its main campus, including:
- Working with the City of Columbus to increase evening and nighttime off-campus CPD patrols during the school year
- Hiring five additional officers for The Ohio State University Police Department
- Buying additional mobile surveillance cameras
- Continuing to support for the license plate reader program and video storage
- Renewing Buckeye Block Watch
- Adding two stops on the east side of High Street, at University Square and South Campus Gateway to Campus Area Bus Service (CABS) On-Demand.
You can read the full annual security report here.