There was one aggravated assault, one burglary, five instances of dating violence and six instances of stalking on campus in 2023, according to the UMass Boston Police Department’s annual safety report published last month.
“Valuing our partnership with the community, campus safety and security is a collaborative effort involving all members of the community in making the UMass Boston and Nantucket campuses safe,” Chief of Police Stacey Lloyd stated in the report.
The report also indicates that there were no hate crimes reported on campus and includes statistics for 10 other categories with no incidents, including motor vehicle theft, robbery, domestic violence and every category of sex crime.
“One Incident of Sexual Assault, considered unfounded after a thorough investigation by a sworn law enforcement officer, established that the crime reported was not, in fact, attempted or completed in any manner,” the report read.
There were no arrests for violations of liquor or drug laws, but 66 liquor law violations and 14 drug law violations were “referred to the Judicial System in the Dean of Students Office” for disciplinary action.
There was one arrest for weapons law violations, which may include illegally carrying or possessing a deadly weapon such as a gun, with two such cases referred for disciplinary action.
The report is published to comply with the Clery Act, a federal law which requires universities to publish daily crime logs and an annual report containing crime statistics for the previous year, according to the Clery Center.
UMass Boston’s crime statistics were generally better than other universities in the area, even accounting for the number of students.
“The safety and security of our students, faculty, staff and visitors is front and center for the University of Massachusetts Boston,” Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco stated.
Boston University, with approximately 37,500 students — or about two and a half times the size of UMass Boston — reported 22 instances of “Forcible Fondling,” 17 aggravated assaults, nine robberies, one burglary, one vehicle theft and two instances of dating violence.
Harvard reported 139 vehicle thefts, 58 aggravated assaults, 28 burglaries, 28 robberies, 17 rapes, 10 instances of domestic violence, seven instances of fondling, six arsons and four instances of dating violence. Harvard had a total of 24,596 students in 2023.
“The UMBPD is committed to providing a safe and secure educational environment for our students, faculty, staff and visitors to learn and work,” Chief Lloyd stated.
Stated Chancellor Suárez-Orozco, “Fostering such an environment begins with caring for each other and extends to the work of those officials charged with protecting, serving, assisting in, and advocating for the well-being of all our campus communities.”
