USU Releases 2023 Annual Safety Report

Utah State University has released the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report detailing statistics on reported crimes and incidents at or near each of its locations, including Statewide Campuses.

The 2023 report also includes ways the Department of Public Safety has worked with other campus partners to improve safety throughout the university, such as:

• USU Police Department conducted 82 outreach and training events aimed at preventing future crimes. These were attended by 12,491 members of the public.
• With the Office of Equity, the Department of Public Safety conducted the biannual Campus Climate Survey to examine sexual misconduct instances for students, faculty and staff.
• The Department of Public Safety created and implemented a lockdown process to control locks on building doors in case of emergencies.

While the report is required to be made public by Oct. 1 each year per the federal Clery Act, Chief of USU Police Jason Brei said it’s a crucial component of continuing the Department of Public Safety’s mission of “providing consistent and impartial public safety excellence.”

“It’s our goal to ensure a safe environment for everyone on campus, whether you live, work, or simply attend classes here,” Brei added. “In addition to the statistics of Clery-related crimes on our campuses, we also like to include our most current policies and definitions to help make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to what constitutes a crime. Answering these questions and being transparent about events on campus is huge for us.”

Each campus aggregates data on crimes — including sexual and dating violence, burglary, and hate crimes — as well as fires reported to campus security advisers to provide an overview of the institution’s safety.

The report includes data on crimes reported in 2020, 2021 and 2022, though some of the reports were made after the instances occurred. The most prevalent crimes reported on Logan’s campus in 2022 were:

• Liquor Violations (23)
• Stalking (14)
• Fondling (12)
• Drug Law Violations (11)
• Rape (9)

Similarly, at USU Eastern in Price, the most common reports were liquor violations (3), fondling (2), burglary (1), and domestic violence (1).

Another aspect of the report is offering clarity on how the university fulfills its Clery Act-required “timely warning notices” to members of the community. USU has continually improved the process and has updated its system to utilize the Aggie Safe app to help those on campus receive timely notices, as well as quickly access reporting, support and safety tools available.

More about the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report can be found here: usu.edu/dps/about/clery.