New Mexico State University saw an uptick in the 2016 calendar year in forcible sex offenses from the previous two years combined – while seeing crime go down significantly in other categorized areas.

The statistics were released by the NMSU Police Department on October 3 to the entire NMSU community as part of compliance with the Jeanne Clery Act ­– which is aimed to provide transparency of campus crime, policy, and statistics around the country.

This report was based only on the NMSU Las Cruces and related Dona Ana Community College Campuses and not the other satellite locations in the NMSU system, although likewise crime information for those campuses was provided as well.

Crimes of forcible sex offenses, according to the report, are sexual acts directed against another person forcibly or against their will. These such cases totaled eight such instances in the 2016 calendar year with six of those occurring on residential facilities of NMSU.

That number is up a considerable amount compared to the 2015 (2 total and 1 on residential facilities) and 2014 (4 total all on residential facilities) calendar years which saw less such acts.

“It is hard to know why crime statistics fluctuate without knowing the specifics” Andrew Bowen, Deputy Chief of the NMSU Police Department said. “Increase in numbers in sexual assaults can be normally linked to increased reporting due to a variety of factors – including education.”

Additionally, for the third year in a row, NMSU did not have any reported negligent or non-negligent murder or manslaughter occur on campus while non-forcible sex offenses (statutory rape) was also not reported for the third consecutive year.

The University, however, did see a sharp decline in other kinds of crime including other Title IX crimes. Among these, domestic violence reports were down from 24 cases in 2015 to just 13 in 2016 (the lowest in a three-year period).

Reports of stalking, aggregated assault, motor vehicle theft and arson all also saw a decline of nearly 50 percent among those categories compared to a year before.

One category that has been the highest occurrence on campus, burglary, also saw a decline in occurrences from 51 to 36 (24 on residential facilities) in the 2016 year yet also retained the top spot for the third consecutive year as the most reported of these categories.

“[Contribution] to the reduction in crimes [include] a decrease in availability of property and an increased presence of uniform personnel,” Bowen said.

Bowen also attributes many of the numbers being lower in some areas as a result of departments such as the Library and Auxiliary Services hiring third part security guards and a uniformed police presence.

Of the reported arrests and referrals (citations) regarding possession of weapons, drug abuse violations as well as violations of liquor laws, the university saw an uptick of reports of liquor law violation referrals (45 up from 38) and drug abuse violation arrests (62 up from 57).

Bowen says; however, these numbers might be a common university trend around the nation and not particular to NMSU. “I know colleagues at other universities that they too deal with a large number of alcohol and drug offenses.”

Additionally, Bowen says, many of the crime deterrence comes down to student’s ability to report the majority of these activities. “[The Community] is our partner in crime prevention – we rely on their ability to see and report suspicious activity.”

Students may also want to ensure that all valuables are kept an eye on. “We encourage [students] to remove all valuables from their vehicles and never leave a running vehicle unattended – be aware of their surroundings.”

The NMSU Police department also offers crime prevention education classes and Bowen says he encourages students to sign up for them by calling (575) 646-3234.

To view the report in full, click here.