Reports of stalking by students on the University of Arizona main campus tripled from 2014 to 2015, while sexual assaults dropped, according to crime statistics released by the school on Friday.
Stalking reports to UA police climbed from three in 2014 to 10 in 2015, but forcible sexual assaults dropped from 13 to 10, almost a 25 percent decrease.
The data are included in the 2015 Campus Safety, Security and Fire Safety Report released by the school. The report is required under the federal Clery Act of 1990.
βIn many situations, we can figure out why thereβs an increase in a specific type of crime, but in this case, we just donβt know,β said UA Police Chief Brian Seastone.
In response to the increase, the department and school will be ramping up their efforts to educate students about what constitutes stalking and what to do if one is being stalked.
βWe always want people to report crimes on campus, regardless if they want to prosecute criminally,β Seastone said. βWe want to be able to get resources to the victims to help them through the healing process.β
Seastone said itβs important for students to report any crime, but especially violent crimes, such as sexual assault, domestic violence and assault.
βWe want to know where these are occurring on campus so that we can make adjustments as necessary to protect the students,β he said.
The largest number of crimes reported to UAPD were liquor law violations, but the 389 reported in 2015 were a sizable drop from the 494 reported in 2014.
Drug violations were the second-most-reported crime, increasing from 91 in 2014 to 119 in 2015.
