Crimes on University Campuses

 Posted on June 10,2015 in Criminal Defense

A lot has been in the news lately about crimes on college campuses, especially those dealing with sexual assault and rape. The recent Rolling Stone article about rape on the University of Virginia campus—that was later shown to be in large part manufactured and incorrectly reported by Rolling Stone—may serve to belie just how serious and honest the vast majority of these crimes are.

According to the Washington Post, the number of victims who come forward to report sexual assault or forcible sexual offenses on college campuses have continued to increase in recent years. This could be in part due to the encouragement of university officials that students come forward to report such incidences, rather than to sweep them under the rug. In 2012, it was reported that Penn State University had the nation’s highest number of reports of forcible sex offenses on campus at a staggering 56 incidents in one school year.

Despite stories of these widely publicized criminal incidents, sexual assault is not the most common crime experienced or perpetrated on university campuses. Instead, the most commonly reported criminal offense on college campuses in recent years was burglary. In 2011, there were 6,712 burglaries reported on college campuses. It should be kept in mind that these statistics are only for incidents that actually occurred on the campus. As such, they do not include incidents experienced by college students off campus in a nearby apartment complex or the like.

Another very common type of criminal activity and arrest experienced by university students is drug possession. According to the Huffington Post, the University of Connecticut was ranked 24th nationwide for the number of drug arrests per capita in 2013. This was a vast improvement from 2012, when the University of Connecticut was ranked 15th in the country.

If you or someone you know is a university student and facing criminal charges, the most important step is to seek legal counsel. With your whole life in front of you, it is important to not go through the proceedings alone. Contact an experienced Connecticut criminal defense attorney today.