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Campus crime rate is lowest in 43 years

02/10/2020 

The SUNY Cortland campus had a banner year for safety in 2019.

Cortland’s University Police Department reported 230 crimes on campus in 2019 — the lowest figure in 43 years.

Other highlights from UPD’s 2019 reporting include:

  • A 28% decrease in on-campus crimes from 2018.
  • UPD cut its arrests nearly in half from the prior year. The 79 arrests were a 48% decrease.
  • The department held 113 community policing programs and activities, an increase of 113% from 2018.

“Nationally, crimes rates have been at an all-time low and the same is true on college campuses,” said UPD Chief Mark DePaull. “I believe our campus crime rates are low due to our community members buying into the ‘whole community’ approach to making the campus a safer place. It is a team effort spread across the entire community.”

These statistics confirm what a number of national organizations have reported in recent years.

YourLocalSecurity.com looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Security analysis and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program and ranked SUNY Cortland as the safest college environment in New York state in 2019.

Safewise.com used data from the FBI to rank the City of Cortland as the only municipality in New York state on its list of the safest college towns in America last year. Cortland also made Safewise’s rankings in 2017 and 2018.

The university provides a number of services that provide for a secure atmosphere on campus. The University Police Department, which moved into a state-of-the-art facility in Whitaker Hall in 2017, has uniformed officers who monitor the campus 24 hours a day. UPD sponsors educational programs on crime prevention, personal safety, self-defense, sexual assault prevention and other topics.

Cortland’s Title IX Office works to raise awareness about sexual harassment, sexual assault and sexual violence as well as offer training to students, faculty and staff on how to identify and prevent domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.