
The University of New Mexico
NEWS RELEASE
Media contact: Lt. Patrick Davis; 249-8304
September 20, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UNM Releases 2005 Crime Statistics
Data shows crime statistics down despite increasing population
The University of New Mexico annual crime statistics report shows some fluctuation over the three-year reporting period, but statistically, violent crime on campus remains low while the campus population continues to increase.
UNM Police compile the statistics annually in compliance with the federal Cleary Law, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Education and requires colleges and universities to release three years of crime statistics for homicide/manslaughter, sex offenses, robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson, hate crimes and aggravated assault. In addition, the number of arrests for alcohol violations, drug violations and weapons violations are reported.
For the past three years, UNM has not had any homicides or hate crimes and incidents of rape have decreased from five reported in 2003 to one in 2005. At the same time, the 2005 numbers for robbery and aggravated assault more closely resemble numbers for 2003, while the 2004 numbers were lower.
“UNM's student population changes by about 25% every year as new students enter and others graduate, which substantially impacts fluctuations in UNM's reported crimes from year to year,” says UNM Police Chief Kathy Guimond. With a daily population of between 40,000 and 50,000 people located in the heart of an urban area, Guimond says that changes in crime numbers at UNM are not statistically significant.
In addition to the Cleary Law report, UNM also reports crime statistics to the Uniform Crime Reporting system administered through the U.S. Department of Justice, which has different deadlines and definitions from the Cleary report. UCR reports UNM with a 1% increase in violent crime.
UCR specifically cautions against comparisons from one university to another. Location in an urban environment and population density impact the amount of crime urban universities experience, and therefore tends to be higher than for predominately rural universities.
UNM traditionally experiences more property crime than violent crime. “Due in large part to our open academic environment and our ever-changing population, the campus community is often very trusting,” says Guimond. “This results in opportunities for people to commit property crimes.”
Guimond says UNM's proactive efforts also help identify more crimes as well as being a deterrent. New initiatives, such as training UNM staff to be “eyes and ears” for police, have been put in place. The campus is also engaged in consolidating police and security services and making available services such as emergency “blue light” phones and a 24-hour campus escort program.
UNM's crime statistics report for 2003 – 2005 can be found at http://www.unm.edu/news/Campus-Safety-Final.pdf . UCR can be found at fbi.gov.
###
www.unm.edu