Annual security report shows rise in crime at Sacramento State
SACRAMENTO — An annual report shows there's been a rise in crime at Sacramento State over the last three years.
Under the Clery Act, colleges must be transparent about crime on campus. It aims to assist prospective students in choosing a school and so current students, employees and their families have access to crime information.
"During the daytime, it's less of an unsafe feeling. But at nighttime it's more, especially in the areas that are less populated," said Sac State student Jesenya Arredondo.
There are 20 categories in the annual security report, and 2024's outlines incidents reported in the last three years. Some of the categories have zero reported instances, like in the categories of murder and dating violence. However, burglary is up 158%, rape is up 200%, and stalking is up 500%, which includes cyberstalking.
Students think the location of the campus could be playing a role in the rising numbers.
"Having an open campus, while it is beautiful and it's great to share with the community, in some cases, it is safer to keep things closed off," said Sac State student Arianna Sanchez.
"Anybody could just wander onto the campus and anything could really happen," Arredondo said.
Keep in mind the numbers in the new report start in 2021 when we were still in the pandemic. CBS13 tried to get access to previous reports to compare the numbers with pre-pandemic numbers, but we couldn't get them in time for this report. Also to note, robbery is down 50% and aggravated assault is down 100%.
"It's been relatively safe I'd say," said Sac State student Augustine Romero.
Campus police weren't available for an interview, but students we spoke with say they feel they're doing a good job at making students feel safe.
"While on campus, there's so much security. There's so many emergency blue towers that do make me feel that sense of security," Sanchez said.
The director of clery compliance and training at Sac State told me in a statement, in part:
"Crime prevention programs on personal safety and theft prevention are sponsored by various campus organizations throughout the year. Sac state also provides ongoing programming initiatives, strategies, and special events that focus on educating students on health and safety strategies and resources."