21 Apr 2016
The murder earlier this month of a University Texas freshman has brought attention to crime at the Austin campus. A 17-year old who is not enrolled at the university has been charged in the case. The murder has caused many people to become concerned about crime at the university. On the media level, this has led to a certain amount of fear-mongering about the level of violent crime at UT Austin.
For those who don’t know, UT Austin has its own police department. It does not consist of a handful of “rent-a-cops” whistling their way across the campus. The university itself is a huge operation, with over 50,000 students, and hundreds of departments employing around 14,000 people. The UTPD is the twelfth largest employer of all the over 350 departments, with around 150 employees. Taking into consideration those who are in support roles, the ratio of officers to the university population as a whole does not appear to be markedly different from the number of officers in the Austin Police Department compared with the population of the entire city.
According to data provided by the UTPD in its 2015 crime report, there are a wide variety of crimes reported on the Austin campus. They mirror to some degree the crime statistics in the overall Austin community. On the other hand, a close look at the statistics reveals that most of the reports of criminal activity do not involve serious crimes. We’ve highlighted some significant facts from the 2015 report, which details over 1,300 reported crimes:
- Homicide. No homicides were reported at UT Austin last year.
- Sex crimes. Three rapes were reported, along with 7 additional “sex offenses.”
- Theft. Only two robberies were reported, along with 38 burglaries and around 380 thefts.
- Assault. While there were 74 reports of assaults, none involved a firearm, and almost all were classified as simple assault.
- Trespass. Almost 300 of the alleged offenses were classified as either trespass or criminal mischief.
- Liquor/Drugs. Public intoxication, liquor law violations, DWI, and drugs comprised over 400 of the total crimes reported.
Despite the recent tragedy at the school, the numbers do not demonstrate much in the way of violent crimes, at least in terms of volume. This is not to say that even one homicide, sexual assault or other serious offense should be ignored. On the other hand, the suggestion that the campus is a particularly violent atmosphere is simply not supported by the numbers.
Law Office of David D. White, PLLC
1201 Rio Grande Street #200
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 369-3737