The day before the fall semester begins at Ohio State University, students are likely to be talking about schedules, summer vacations and roommates. How to protect themselves against crime, probably isn’t high on that list. There’s a good reason why these students should keep an eye out for themselves and their belongings. “The more people you have, the more opportunity you have, the more laptops, the more iPods and shiny objects that people could potentially steal,” said Melinda Benson, Assistance Compliance Director for OSU. In the last few years, the number of burglaries has sky-rocketed. Compare 15 in 2015 to 49 in 2017. University officials argue there’s a reason behind the increase. The Clery Act, which tells universities how to classify crimes, changed the meaning of a burglary to include any unauthorized entry. Rapes that were reported on campus also increased from 26 in 2015 to 71 in 2017. Chief Spears-McNatt takes that as a sign more students are reporting rapes. The number of domestic violence incidents on-campus also jumped from 4 to 21 in a two-year span.
Ohio State says spike in some crimes linked to more students on campus was originally published on mycolumbuspower.com
