Eric Zuniga, Campus Carrier news editor

James Fox, Campus Carrier deputy news editor

Berry College last week released its annual security and fire safety report, containing statistics on all crimes on campus that have been reported to the Berry College Police Department as well as details of the college’s fire safety protocols. 

All colleges and universities in the United States are required by the Clery Act of 1990 to publish an annual report detailing their security policies, crime mitigation efforts and crime statistics for the prior three years. 

“The original purpose, and still the main purpose, is to provide prospective students, parents of students, employees with a consumer guide so they can compare one institution to another,” Chief of Police Ryan Chesley said. “Prior to the federal regulations that require the annual security report, there was no way for a prospective student or current student or any of those demographics to easily access crime data related to a school.”

The annual report is based on statistics kept by the Berry College Police Department as well as information from local authorities about crimes on areas adjacent to campus. It includes numbers of all reports made by victims of certain crimes over the past year. Reports that are later judged to be unfounded by a law enforcement investigation are also included. 

The Clery Act requires that colleges report statistics on murder, manslaughter, sexual assault, robbery, burglary, arson, vandalism and hate crimes. They must also report data on drug and liquor law violations. Certain low-level crimes, such as petty theft, are not included in the annual reports. 

“The majority of criminal activity on Berry’s campus is bicycle theft and things like that,” Chesley said. “Those are not clear reportable crimes. We have a lot of things that are reported to us that don’t necessarily meet the criteria because they don’t fall in the crime categories required by [the Cleary Act].”

This year’s statistics indicate that sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking make up the biggest categories of serious reported crime on Berry’s campus. In 2023, there were five reports of rape, four reports of domestic violence, three reports of dating violence, two reports of stalking and one report of fondling.

The data in this year’s report suggests that reports of sexual assault and harassment on campus have increased over the past six years. From 2021 to 2023, there were a combined 12 reports of rape, compared with a combined eight rape reports between 2018 and 2020. Similarly, 11 instances of dating violence were reported from 2021 to 2023, compared with only two instances reported from 2018 to 2020.

Chesley said the increases in these numbers are likely best attributed to better reporting rather than actual increases in the occurrence of these crimes. 

“A lot of times you have higher reported numbers because you have decreased stigma about reporting or you have opened up channels of communication,” Chesley said. “You’re telling people it’s okay to report. You’re creating safe ways that they can report. And you’re creating opportunities for people to utilize the system that’s here for them.”

Sexual and relationship violence is already heavily underreported in the United States, with the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimating that only 21 percent of rapes and 53 percent of domestic violence incidents were reported to police in 2022. Chesley said that Berry is always working to improve its reporting process for victims of sexual and relationship violence. 

“As an institution, we’re always looking to improve the way that we reach students and the way that we communicate with students about that issue,” Chesley said. “It’s just one of those things we’re always aware of and trying to make sure that we’re doing the best we can to make those resources available.”

Berry has seen decreases in other kinds of crime over the past few years. There were no reported robberies and only one reported burglary in 2023. Five instances of burglary were recorded from 2021 to 2023, compared with a combined 16 reports of burglary between 2018 and 2020. 

“Some of that is sort of naturally cyclical,” Chesley said. “A lot of times too, in years where we may have had higher numbers, it might have been that the person or persons responsible for those were actually the same. You end up with a higher incident count, but it’s because of one person here who has repeatedly offended.”

Drug and liquor law violations have remained within typical levels. In 2023, there were 35 referrals for liquor violations, which typically consist of underage possession of alcohol, and 15 referrals for drug law violations. Only one person was arrested for a drug law violation. Overall, 134 drug and liquor violations were recorded between 2021 and 2023, a slight decrease compared to the 152 reported between 2018 and 2020. 

“Alcohol and drug numbers tend to be cyclical too,” Chesley said. “We’ve had years where we may have 19 people who were at the same unauthorized social function, and all 19 of those people present count as a referral because they’re all underage and they’re all drinking and they all get caught. That’s a year where that number’s going to be way [higher].”

Overall, Berry’s crime statistics are comparable to those at similarly sized institutions. At Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., between 2021 and 2023, there were 18 reports of sex offenses, 21 reports of stalking and dating violence, and 12 reports of burglary. Sewanee reported eight instances of sex offenses, seven instances of stalking and dating violence, and 12 instances of burglary over the same time. 

“Every school has to do this — compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges,” said Gary Will, assistant vice president for campus safety and land management. “We can always do better obviously, but at the end of the day, I think we’ve done a nice job of providing safety. I think for the most part, students can feel safe.”

According to Will, Berry is continuing to make campus more secure with its ongoing efforts to install cameras in all parking lots. Over the past year, cameras have been installed in the parking lots near the Cage Athletic Center, West Dana, Morton-Lemley and Blackstone.

“That process has started in the last year,” Will said. “We’ve started at the south end of campus and we’re progressing to the north end of the main campus.”

Berry has remained safe from major fires over the past few years. Last year, only one fire was reported involving an overheating electrical device that caused damages of $150. However, many residence halls — Morton-Lemley, Friendship, Pilgrim, Oak Hill, Townhouses and most cottages — are still not equipped with sprinkler systems. Chesley said that adding sprinklers to these buildings is a consideration when they are up for 
regular renovations. 

“I know anytime those buildings are being discussed for renovation that it’s always ideal to consider adding sprinkler service — it’s just one of those things that’s very difficult to retrofit,” Chesley said. “We had one of those conversations this morning about two of those buildings, so I know it’s actively being discussed. These two spaces are going to be looking at renovations, how do we accomplish this?”

Though Berry’s crime numbers are relatively low, Chesley encouraged all members of the Berry community to read the annual report for information on Berry’s security and safety policies.

“The numbers themselves are important, but Berry’s crime numbers are incredibly low, relatively speaking,” Chesley said. “The other stuff in this document is sort of a snapshot of thing safety and security related as far as Berry’s concerned. As a community person, it’s in your benefit to know those things.”

Will encouraged students with safety concerns to make them known to the administration. 

“We hope that students do feel safe on campus, and if there are some issues, they need to bring it to our attention,” Will said. “We can’t always do everything all at one time as fast as they would like us to do it, and sometimes it comes down to money and having budgets and things like that, but we try to be responsive as best as we can.”