The end of the school year brings more than just finals and dumpsters full of refuse. At the end of each academic year the crime statistics are released to the public for accountability purposes.

This year’s statistics were fairly typical in relation to other years, but some crimes saw significant increases. The majority of violations were related to drugs, alcohol and illegal file-sharing.

For the 2007-2008 school year the number of illegal drug violations more than quadrupled, growing from three in 2006 to 13 this year.

The statistics are compiled from a combination of security and Residence Life records, most of which are handled by hall directors.

Jim Ahles, director of Campus Safety and Security, described the process.

“All incidents that are reported to security are entered into the report system and then Student Life does the stats,” said Ahles. “There are incidents that are not reported to security, and these are the ones that are not counted. Residence Life also enters incidents into the reporting system that they deal with and sometimes security is not needed to be involved. Usually these are the incidents with alcohol violations and other minor incidents.”

Ann Highum, Vice President and Dean for Student Life had some insight on these increases.

“We have had more drug violations, marijuana cases, this year than any other single year that I can remember,” said Highum. “I think there is probably some increased student use, and I think students got very lackadaisical and cavalier about their use. And so it was relatively easy to find them and to take action.”

The reported serious alcohol violations make up only a fraction of the documented alcohol violations.

One main difference between last and this year’s crime statistics is the inclusion of cases of alleged file-sharing. Last year, the Recording Industry Association of America reported one user sharing illegally, and it was not included in the crime statistics. This year alone, 16 cases have been reported to Luther’s LIS from the RIAA, HBO, Warner Brothers and CBS.

One of these sources contacts Luther when a user under their network is file-sharing illegally. Luther is then supposed to order a cease and desist. If the student does not delete the files within a specified period of time the RIAA or another organization takes over and prosecutes the user as they see fit.

Chris Barth, executive director of Library and Information Services, had more information.

“Generally, these complaints that we receive don’t include any legal action or anything,” said Barth. “It’s kind of a warning. Luther’s policy has been to pass that along.”

If a student receives two of these notifications, Luther will disable that student’s network access.

“It’s the student’s responsibility to make sure that they have a license to be sharing whatever files they are sharing,” said Barth.

The college is required to publish its complete crime statistics as part of the Clery Act. This is a calendar report of all student violations on record for that year.

“That’s probably the most complete report,” said Highum. “It compares from year to year … we have to make that public.”

When compared with other ELCA institutions in Luther’s district, the college’s crime rates are average.

“Luther is a safe campus,” said Ahles. “We compare the same as St. Olaf and Gustavus [Adolphus] … no one should have a false sense of security as anything can happen anywhere. Be alert.”

Overall the comparison between Luther and other institutions depends on the enforcement of rules.

“If you really are good at enforcing your policies, then your numbers are going to go up,” said Highum. “And it doesn’t necessarily mean that students are doing more of any particular code violation. It just means that they have been caught.”

Luther’s Clery statistics from previous years are available on the Luther Web site under Student Life, Dean of Students and then Crime Statistics.