The University of Idaho saw an increase in the number of reported forcible sex offenses last year, going from three in 2013 to a total of seven in 2014, according to the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.
Matt Dorschel
According to the report, liquor law arrests were down while liquor law violations that were referred to for disciplinary action increased.
The university also reported a decrease in the number of on-campus burglaries, with three cases reported in 2014 as opposed to 10 in 2013, according to the report.
The report, released Thursday, shows crime data from the 2014 calendar year and gives an overview of crime statistics at all UI locations.
Better known as the Clery Act, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistic Act requires UI and universities across the U.S. to disclose crime statistics in an annual security report.
According to the report, there were seven reported forcible sex offenses, compared to three offenses in 2013 and 2012.
Matt Dorschel, UI”s executive director of Public Safety and Security, said a forcible sex offense includes rape, forcible oral or anal sex, sexual assault with an object and forcible fondling.
Dorschel said a forcible sex offense is defined as any sexual act directed against another person against their will. He said the forcible sex offense definition also includes sexual acts in which the person is incapable of giving consent.
Alex Roberts, a coordinator for student conduct at UI, said the reported sexual assaults are not representative of the total number of sexual assaults that actually occur at UI. He said the sexual assault numbers in the Clery report are often the tip of the iceberg when it comes to sexual assault on college campuses.
“There is probably a great deal of sexual assault that does not get reported – we know that,” Roberts said.
Roberts said he expects the number of sexual assaults listed in the Clery report to rise as UI continues to promote a culture where reporting those crimes is encouraged. He said there has been a long-standing fear of reporting sexual assault on college campuses.
“That”s a big, big ship to turn, when you have decades and decades of a culture of not reporting,” Roberts said.
According to the report, UI saw a decrease in the number of liquor law arrests in 2014, from 82 reported cases in 2013 to 52 reported cases in 2014. Under the Clery Act, an arrest includes people who have been arrested, cited or summoned.
Although liquor law arrests were down, there was an 8 percent increase in the number of reported liquor law violations that were referred for disciplinary action.
In these cases, Dorschel said people were referred to an official that initiated and documented a disciplinary action, which could result in a sanction.
There were a number of new crimes added to the Clery Act report this year as part of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act.
The act, passed by Congress in 2013, amended the Clery Act and required universities to disclose crimes not previously reported, including domestic violence, dating violence and stalking, Dorschel said.
According to the report, there were two cases of stalking at the Moscow campus and one case each of domestic violence and dating violence at UI in 2014.
Dorschel said the act also required universities to provide information on crime that was declared unfounded by law enforcement officials.
There were zero unfounded claims on the Moscow campus in 2014, according to the report.
Ryan Tarinelli can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ryantarinelli