Ohio State’s 2024 Annual Security Report shows fondling, motor vehicle theft and arrests for alcohol violations were the top crimes on-campus in 2023. Credit: Lantern File Photo
In 2023, fondling, motor vehicle theft and arrests for alcohol violations were among the top crimes on campus, according to the 2024 Annual Security Report.
The Clery Act, passed in 1990, requires college campuses to report campus crime data — including Violence Against Women Act offenses, hate crimes, criminal offenses and arrests and referrals for disciplinary action — while outlining policies and procedures put in place to enhance campus safety.
One of the most reported crimes, fondling, increased by 588.7% with 365 reports in 2023 — which is nearly seven times the 53 reports in 2022 — not including one report from the Richard Strauss case.
Strauss was a varsity team sports doctor and physician at the Student Health Center from 1978-1998, who sexually abused at least 177 students, per prior Lantern reporting.
Motor vehicle theft also saw a significant increase, from 26 reports in 2022 to 114 reports in 2023, a 338.5% increase — or over four times the amount — from 2022.
“Beginning in 2023, the definition of ‘motor vehicle’ used by both federal and state agencies expanded to include electric scooters and electric bikes,” Dan Hedman, university spokesperson, said in an email. “Of the 114 incidents, 68 involved e-scooters or e-bikes. Additionally, the increased motor vehicle thefts reflect a local and national trend. We anticipate that this statistic will continue to increase as the university builds new facilities off campus.”
Arrests for alcohol violations increased by 128.1% in 2023, with 130 reported in 2023 as compared to 57 reported in 2022. Disciplinary referrals for alcohol violations, however, went down from 638 in 2022 to 587 in 2023.
There were 76 reports of stalking on campus in 2023, up six from last year.
Hate crimes on campus increased from five reportable hate crimes in 2022 to nine in 2023. This year’s report included assaults characterized by national origin, race, sexual orientation and religion, intimidation characterized by sexual orientation and intimidation characterized by race.
Reports of burglary fell to 40 reports in 2023, with 62 reported burglaries in 2022. Similarly, robbery reports fell from 11 in 2022 to three in 2023.
Reports of rape dropped from 86 reports in 2022 to 58 in 2023, not including one rape report related to Strauss this year. Off-campus reports of rape dropped from 15 in 2022 to one reported case in 2023.
Dating violence and domestic violence reports both experienced a slight increase in 2023. Dating violence had 24 reports, rising from 22 in 2022. Domestic violence reports rose by three from 2022, with 12 reports being made on campus this year.
The top three off-campus crimes paralleled the top three on-campus crimes, specifically including 23 reports of motor vehicle theft, 12 fondling reports and eight reports of disciplinary referrals for alcohol violations.
