The Office of Safety and Security released the 2008 edition of its Annual Security Report yesterday, detailing the infractions committed on campus over the past three years.
The report was compiled as a result of the Federal Clery Act of 1990, which mandates that colleges and universities must submit annual, publicly-accessible reports covering campus security to members of the community. In addition to being posted on Security's Web site, copies of the report are available from Security by request.
"This report includes statistics for the previous three years concerning reported crimes that occurred on-campus, in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by Bowdoin, and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to [and] accessible from the campus," wrote Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols in an e-mail to Bowdoin's students, faculty and staff yesterday afternoon.
"The report also includes institutional policies concerning campus security, such as policies on sexual assault, and other matters," wrote Nichols.
The most dramatic change over the past three years is the steep rise in the number of alcohol-related referrals. In 2008, 187 alcohol-related referrals were made, up from 149 in 2007 and 111 in 2006.
Nichols said "the increase in referrals is a reflection of increased enforcement."
The number of alcohol-related arrests of Bowdoin students spiked in 2008 to six arrests, up from one each in 2006 and 2007.
According to Nichols, many incidents that could potentially result in arrests are handed over to Bowdoin Security by the Brunswick Police Department.
"It totally depends on the seriousness of the situation...the cooperation of the students and also the nature of the offense," said Nichols.
Drug-related referrals decreased from 19 referrals in 2006 to 11 referrals in 2007 and eight in 2008. The number of drug-related arrests also decreased, with five in 2006, one in 2007 and zero in 2008.
The number of burglaries in and around Bowdoin was also down in 2008. There were 12 burglaries in 2008, down from 21 in 2007 and 16 in 2006. Of the burglaries in 2008, one occurred in a non-College locale adjacent to College property, three occurred within residency halls, and eight occurred in non-residential facilities on campus.
Nichols warned, however, that the number of burglaries recorded can be a deceptive number.
"You have one burglary spree by one person that can really ramp up your statistics," Nichols said. "Most burglars hit multiple places before they get caught, if they are caught."
Asked who is usually responsible for such burglaries, Nichols responded, "most of the burglaries that we have solved have been non-campus people. They have either been visitors to the campus or they have been people who have come to the campus for the purpose of committing crime."
Nichols added that in the case of many of the 2007 burglaries, "visitors" refers to individuals on campus for purposes related to the construction of new facilities.
According to the report, only one Bowdoin student was forcibly sexually assaulted in 2008. The same is true of 2006 and 2007. The number is based on anonymous reports to the Office of Safety and Security.
Some believe this number may not be representative of the actual number of sexual assaults on campus.
"Based on my experiences, I feel as though it is a huge understatement," said Co-President of V-Day Shelby Davies '10.
Davies said that the process of reporting a sexual assault is extremely difficult for survivors, regardless of whether they are at Bowdoin or not, and that this difficulty may prevent students from reporting assaults to Security.
"I think what the number in the security report goes to show is that the majority of sexual assault cases on this campus go unreported," said Davies.