VIDEO: Feeling safe at NCCU: personal accounts and by the numbers

Feeling safe on campus is one of the most important factors of the overall assurance of security for students. At N.C. Central University, students note a general increase in incidents with no comparable increase in preventative measures.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the most common crime committed on college campuses is burglary, followed by motor vehicle theft and forcible sex offenses (defined as “any sexual act directed against another person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent”).

North Carolina Central’s burglary rates have increased over 200 percent in recent years. As reported in the university’s own published crime reports between 2015 and 2017, there has been a marked increase in the number of burglaries on campus. 2015 saw 19 attempted or successful burglaries, increasing to 30 in 2016, and then more than doubling its original rate in 2017 with 44 incidents within or on the streets directly bordering NCCU.

In regards to motor vehicle theft at NCCU, there is evidence of a decrease in the number of vehicle thefts. In the year of 2015, there were three motor vehicle thefts, 2016 there were four, and there was only one recorded incident in 2017. In comparison to the National Center of Educational statistics, the data that is presented in regards to auto theft on campus is generally low. As far as the forcible sex statistics, there has also been a gradual decrease in the number of recorded rapes on campus. In 2015 there were eight, 2016 there were seven, and in 2017 there were five recorded rapes on campus.

The number of domestic violence cases on campus has been steadily increasing since the year of 2015. During that year, there were thirteen cases reported, twenty in 2016, and 26 on campus cases in 2017. The students on campus have mixed emotions concerning how safe they feel on campus. Some don’t notice an increase in any of the crimes and on the other hand, students believe that there could be better security measures taken to decrease the number of crimes on campus.