On Friday, Oct. 7, Rowan University released its annual Security and Fire Safety Report for 2022, as required by law under the Clery Act.
The report contains information about campus security and personal safety. This includes crime prevention, public safety authority, crime reporting policies, fire safety, disciplinary procedures and other safety-related matters.
The Clery Report Act requires colleges and universities to disclose crime statistics on campus and closely outside of it. Rowan’s report contains crime and fire statistics from the three previous calendar years.
The university submits the statistics report to the U.S Department of Education. It is provided in compliance with the Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) and associated amendments, including Violence Against Women Reauthorization (VAWA).
Crime statistics are based on reports of alleged criminal incidents and, according to the report, it is necessary for the crime to have been investigated by the police or a campus security authority. Any cases in which the accused has been found guilty have not been included in the university’s crime statistics.
Fire statistics report all fires of any type, even if they are extinguished by Rowan University Public Safety.
The report also has unfounded crimes. A crime is considered unfounded for the Clery Act only if sworn or commissioned law enforcement personnel make a determination that the report is false or baseless.
The report is applied to all Rowan University campuses. This includes Glassboro, West Campus, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden Academic Building and Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine at Stratford and Sewell. “Separate Campuses” are included, such as Rowan College at Burlington County and Gloucester County.
The first campus to be shown on the report was the main campus of Glassboro. In 2021, there were 11 cases of rape, an increase from the previous year’s report of six. There were seven cases of fondling reported in 2021 while there were four in 2020. There were zero cases of statutory rape reported in 2021.
There were 49 cases of domestic violence in both 2020 and 2021. No cases of dating violence were documented in both years as well. 42 cases of stalking were reported in 2021 while there 46 were reported in 2020.
There are only two cases of robbery in 2021, a decrease from five in 2020. There was an increase in cases of aggravated assault from seven in 2021 to five in 2020. There were five reports of a burglary in 2021 compared to four in 2020. No cases of arson were reported in 2021. In 2021 there were two cases of motor vehicle theft while there was only one case reported the previous year.
In 2021 there were six reported cases of liquor law arrest, a decrease of 18 from the previous year. Drug law arrests took a big decline with 10 cases reported in 202l. In 2020, 60 cases were reported of drug law arrests. There were the same amount of weapons possession arrests, five, in both years.
In 2021, there were 41 cases of liquor law referrals, a massive decline to 2020 with 329. There were 21 cases of drug law referrals in 2021 compared to 84 cases in 2020. There was one case of weapons possession referrals in 2021 while there were two in 2020.
There were no hate crimes reported in both years. One crime was found to be unfounded in 2020 and none occurred in 2021.
At the Camden Academic Building, Rowan College at Burlington County and Rowan College at Gloucester County there were no cases for all previously mentioned acts.
There were no hate crimes or unfounded crimes for all other campuses.
In the West Campus, there was only one drug law arrest.
In the Cooper Medical School of Rowan, there were three cases of aggravated robbery, two cases of domestic violence and one case of stalking in 2021.
There was one case of stalking at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine in 2021.
Two fires were reported in 2021. The first was on March 3, 2021, caused by a toaster oven on 57 N. Main Street. The second was on July 31, 2021, caused by a fan left on a stove burner.
The report states that all residential locations have fire alarms monitored by a private company that notifies public safety, are equipped with a full sprinkler system, have fire alarms and smoke detectors, have evacuation plans posted and fire safety training conducted, and fire extinguisher devices.
No evacuation drills were conducted in 2021. The report explains that during the 2021-2022 semesters COVID-19 levels fluctuated. A decision was made to temporarily suspend all emergency evacuation drills. The drills should be returning, starting with the Fall 2022 semester.
Anyone can access the report through Rowan’s website under the Department of Public Safety.
For comments/questions about this story tweet @TheWhitOnline or email thewhit.newseditor@gmail.com.
