Crime on The Ohio State University's campus slightly decreased in 2022 compared to the previous year, but one particular crime is continuing to increase both on and around campus.
The 2022 Annual Security Report for OSU's Columbus campus showed there were 357 crimes reported to campus safety officials in all of 2022, which was a decrease of about 7% compared to 2021.
While numbers for 2023 aren't complete yet as the year has not ended, Ohio State Police Division Chief Kimberly Spears-McNatt said some trends are continuing from last year.
"(2022) was the first year post-COVID where we saw people being able to be back outside and gather. We also saw some national trends happening across the country. And so and in some areas, we did see an uptick in some crimes," Spears-McNatt said.
Spears-McNatt specifically pointed to the nationwide trend of an uptick in motor vehicle threats largely attributed to Kia and Hyundai models being easier to break into. She said that trend is appearing at OSU and in the immediate area.
The report shows that motor vehicle thefts on campus actually decreased from 29 reports in 2021 to 26 in 2022, but it increased in reports that took place off campus from only 4 in 2021 to 32 in 2022.
Spears-McNatt said this has unfortunately been a national trend that is also impacting the OSU community. She said so far in 2023, that trend is continuing upward while other crimes decrease.
Spears-McNatt said the campus community tries to do outreach to students, staff and faculty about ways to avoid their vehicles being targeted.
"If you had one of those vehicles, make sure that you've locked it. We partnered with undergraduate student government to give out steering wheel locks and are just reminding our students that if you leave, if you're getting out of your car for a few seconds, even to go running to get food, don't leave your car running," Spears-McNatt said.
Spears-McNatt said electric scooter theft is also seeing a large spike.
The report states that while some crimes such as burglary and assault are increasing moderately, rape and dating violence are decreasing.
The most reported crimes on campus in 2022 included 86 reports of rape, 53 reports of fondling and 70 reports of stalking. Of those, only reports of stalking increased from 2021.
The statistics report some off campus crime that took place near fraternity and sorority houses, but not all.
University spokesperson Dan Hedman said crimes like the fatal stabbing of Emily Foster in the University District and Ohio State wrestler Sammy Sossa being shot and wounded at the Short North Kroger will not be included in the 2023 report.
Spears-McNatt said OSUPD is working in several ways to better respond to crime on campus. University police announced in September the agency would hire five new officers this year, and would work more closely with Columbus Police to patrol areas on and around campus.
"We always want to educate people about how to report to the police, you know, always trying to find a safe environment. And so we're glad to see that those numbers also went down," Spears-McNatt said.
