Campus Safety Releases 2023 Clery Report with Loyola Crime Statistics

Campus Safety released the 2023 Clery Act Annual Security Report and Fire Safety Report Oct. 1, listing safety procedures for students and all instances of crimes and disciplinary reports across all of Loyola campuses.

The report is mandated by the U.S. Department of Education and provides the opportunity to compare crime, statistics, policies and procedure between any two institutions.

“The report is a way of helping people learn about safety on our campuses,” Cunningham said.

The Clery Report suggests lengths students should take to keep themselves and their personal possessions safe, from properly securing your bike on a bike rack to information on self-defense classes. Definitions of crimes begin on Page 30.

“Too often, the report is something that’s looked at after an incident occurs, but it should be observed proactively by everyone,” Cunningham said.

Named after an undergraduate student at Lehigh University in the 1980s who was raped and murdered in her dorm room, the Jeanne Clery Act requires universities to disclose crime statistics with the goal of increased campus safety, The Phoenix previously reported.

Loyola reported five cases of rape, 246 liquor law violations, 10 burglaries and 12 cases of motor vehicle theft — up from three vehicle thefts in 2021 — on the Lake Shore Campus. Between Loyola’s other five campuses, there were no notable changes in reported criminal offenses, arrests or referrals.

“An increase in those numbers does not indicate that things have gotten worse,” Cunningham said.  “It indicates that more people are coming forward and reporting these things.”

The number of rape cases on both the Lake Shore and Water Tower Campuses increased from the previous year, with Lake Shore going from four to five and Water Tower increasing from zero to two, according to Page 27 of the report.

“FBI statistics will tell you that rape, sexual violence and gender based violence are some of the least reported crimes,” said Cunningham. 

To report sexual assault at Loyola, students can submit an online report. For emergencies, students should call 911, dial 44-911 on an on-campus phone, or call Campus Safety directly at (773) 508-7233.

Students can also remain anonymous when reporting, though the website for submitting reports states doing so could limit the university’s ability to address the crime.

“The university is trying very, very hard to have people come forward to report these things to us, so that we can make this a safer campus,” Cunningham said. “No matter what, though, we’re going to try to get the individual in touch with whoever they need to be safe and get any help they need.”

One resource for students to report crime is Loyola’s Advocacy Line, which allows students to discuss their reporting options confidentially. The advocacy line can be found on the advocacy services website.

Disciplinary referrals for liquor law violations jumped 59% from 155 to 246, according to 2022 data. Other nearby universities, such as the University of Illinois Chicago, reported 69 referrals and DePaul University reported 61.

“There has been an increase in the number of students on-campus since the COVID-19 pandemic,” Des’mon Taylor, the director of Residence Life, wrote in an email to The Phoenix. “While there haven’t been significant changes in administration or policy, we have focused on raising awareness and encouraging a culture of responsible behavior and reporting.”

There were 12 reported burglaries on the Lake Shore Campus which Cunningham attributed to the fault of one suspect who was arrested earlier this semester. He explained burglaries are counted by the incident and not the individual.

Public property is defined in this context as any property immediately adjacent to campus which belongs to the public. For example, while only one motor vehicle theft occurred on-campus at Lake Shore, 12 occurred on Lake Shore Campus public property, according to Page 57 of the report. 

“We have a lot of food delivery service employees who leave their car unlocked and running outside restaurants, and someone might hop in and take off with it,” Cunningham said. “Motor vehicle thefts also include motorized wheelchairs and golf carts.”

In the city of Chicago, motor vehicle theft rose 35% from 2021 to 2022, according to the 2023 annual report for the Illinois Vehicle Hijacking and Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention and Insurance Verification Council.

There are also measures being taken to include more crimes that endanger students in Campus Safety reporting, which could be included under Clery, according to Cunningham and Tim Love, the executive director of the Office for Equity and Compliance and Title IX coordinator.

The House of Representatives passed the Stop Campus Hazing Act last September, according to Congress.gov. It aims to include hazing-related crimes in future safety reports. The bill has yet to pass the Senate or reach the President’s desk.

“The University watches all such legislative developments very carefully,” Love wrote in an email to The Phoenix. “We are committed to ensuring that Loyola’s policies and procedures always meet or exceed our legal requirements – especially when it comes to student safety.”