Florida Atlantic University’s annual security report reveals 531 criminal offenses across the six campuses from 2021 to 2023. 

Incidents of motor vehicle theft, burglary and dating violence have surged compared to previous years. Under the Jeanne Clery Act, this report requires all colleges and universities to federally publish data on all reported crimes that occur on their campuses every October. 

With the university’s student population of over 30,000, the largest of the six campuses is in Boca Raton. However, this campus has the highest crime rate compared to the others — with 516 incidents out of the 531.

Crime statistics

The report of FAU’s Boca Raton campus shows an all-time high in motor vehicle theft, which increased from 12 cases in 2021 to 21 cases in 2023. For each crime statistic in the report, the count includes both on-campus incidents and those in student residence facilities.

Another record-breaking rate occurred in burglaries over the past three years, with 16 cases reported in 2023. This shift marks an increase from five cases in both 2021 and 2022, although another separate case happened off-campus that year. 

The report defines burglary as the unlawful entry of a building with the intent to commit a crime.

Also on the list is dating violence, which increased from three cases in 2021 to 11 cases in 2023, with one reported off-campus. The report explains that dating violence can involve an individual threatening a victim in a relationship with sexual or physical abuse.

Lynn University, a private institution in Boca Raton that neighbors FAU and has a population of over 3,500, disclosed its annual security report. In terms of comparing to FAU rates, they reported three car thefts, two burglary cases and nine incidents of dating violence in 2023.

On a larger scale, Florida International University’s main campus, the Modesto A. Maidique Campus in Miami, with a student body of more than 56,000, published its security report for the year. It showed records of seven car thefts, 12 burglaries and one case of dating violence in 2023.

Back to FAU’s Boca campus, there were six cases of stalking in 2022, which rose to nine in 2023. This crime, as stated in the report, targets a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress that would cause one to fear for their safety. 

There were five reported cases of rape in 2023, with an additional one that occurred off-campus and five cases in 2022 — marking an increase from three cases in 2021. The report states that rape is “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” 

For fondling, the report spells this crime out as “the touching of private body parts on another person for sexual gratification without the consent of the victim.” There was one case in 2021, which increased to seven in 2023.

Robberies have been less frequent than other crimes, with only two reports since 2021 and one off-campus. The report defines robberies as “the taking or attempting to take anything of value under confrontational circumstances from the control, custody, or care of another person by force, threat of force, violence and/or by putting the property custodian in fear.”

There have been three aggravated assault reports in 2021, with one off-campus, which has increased to eight in 2022 and 2023. 

Aggravated assault is when one “unlawful attack by one person upon another where either the offender displays a weapon, or the victim suffers obvious severe or aggravated bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possible internal injury, severe laceration or loss of consciousness,” according to the report. 

Arrests 

On the Boca campus, drug law violations have remained at the same rate, with two cases in the last two years and one alcohol law violation in 2022 — both of which led to arrests. 

The report defines drug law violations as “the unlawful possession, use or distribution of narcotic drugs.” Then, the report continues to read about alcohol law violations, which is “the manufacture, sale, transporting, furnishing, possessing of intoxicating liquor.”

Alcohol cannot be sold to people younger than 21, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

“The misuse of alcohol and other drugs by students, regardless of age and of location (on-campus or off-campus), is prohibited by the Student Code of Conduct,” reads FAU’s notification of alcohol and other drug information for the fall semester. 

According to a university record, the FAUPD transfers all arrests made on the Boca Raton or Jupiter campus to the Palm Beach County Jail. Arrests made on the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) campus are transported to the St. Lucie County Jail and the Davie campus to the Broward County Jail. 

Disciplinary referrals

Alcohol law violations that led to referrals for disciplinary actions rose from 70 cases in 2021 to 149 in 2022 — with seven separate cases reported off-campus — to 63 in 2023. Drug law violations started at 32 in 2021 and dropped to 13 in 2022. While violations most recently increased slightly to 16 cases in 2023.

In 2021, FAUPD reported three cases of weapons law violations, defined in the report as the sale or possession of a deadly weapon; since then, the rate has remained zero.  

Ricky Langlois, an instructor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, stated in a Dec. 7 email to the UP that FAU Police Department is best suited to address campus safety. He declined to offer “commentary” on why some crime rates might be higher than others, explaining that the Dean of Students Office guided him not to do so.

“Every student deserves to not fear of anything happening to them whether it be theft or assault. Likewise, we continuously work with the University in creating a safer space for everyone,” said FAU Student Government President Stefan Andjelkovic in an Instagram direct message to the UP on Dec. 10. 

FAUD and university officials work diligently to create a secure educational environment on all campuses, wrote university spokesperson Joshua Glanzer in an Oct. 9 email to the UP.

“The safety of Florida Atlantic’s six campuses is a testament to the hard work of our dedicated police officers and the members of our community who see something and say something,” wrote Glanzer, encouraging the FAU community to report any safety or security concerns to law enforcement immediately. 

Other FAU campuses 

FAU’s John D. MacArthur campus in Jupiter ranks second runner-up in crime, though it still maintains a low rate of nine incidents compared to Boca’s count. The report counts two alcohol law violations from 2021 to 2023 and one drug law violation in 2023.

On this campus, the report showed one stalking and burglary incident in 2023 and two fondling incidents in 2022. The report indicates that one weapons law violation and motor vehicle theft occurred in 2021.

The Davie campus had two motor vehicle thefts in 2023 and one arson incident on the criminal act of setting public property on fire in 2021, according to the report. There were two cases of motor vehicle theft in 2021 at the SeaTech campus in Dania Beach.

One motor vehicle theft occurred in 2021 at the Fort Lauderdale campus. While at the HBOI campus in Fort Pierce, appears to be a haven with zero reported crimes in the past three years. 

Michael Cook is the News Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email michael17cook@gmail.com.