The annual crime report shows an increase in recorded crime in the Yale area

Yale campus security authorities recorded more cases of rape, stalking, domestic and dating violence, aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft in 2023 than in previous years.

Ariela Lopez

12:26 a.m., Oct. 30, 2024

Staff reporter

Ximena Solorzano, contributing photographer

The number of reported sexual assaults and misconduct has been increasing over the last decade

The Annual Security Report – or ASR – is published in accordance with the Clery Act, which requires universities that receive federal funding to publish campus crime statistics for the past three calendar years and information about efforts made to improve campus security. The statistics must include all crimes on campus property, on public property “immediately adjacent to and accessible from locations on campus,” and on off-campus property either frequently used by students or by a recognized student organization be controlled.

The Clery Act requires reports to include statistics on rape and sexual assault, which are considered felonies, as well as violations of the Violence Against Women Act – domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.

In his statement, Lovello wrote that the released numbers come from cases reported to law enforcement agencies, including the Yale and New Haven police departments, as well as crime statistics reported to “campus security agencies,” which include Title IX -Office belongs to the university. Grand Committee on Sexual Misconduct and Residence Hall Deans.

Yale Public Safety reported 56 cases of rape, 30 cases of fondling, 19 cases of domestic violence, 60 cases of dating violence and 44 cases of stalking in 2023, a continuation of the upward trend of previous years.

In 2023, Yale Police Chief Anthony Campbell and Jason Killheffer, director of Title IX programs on campus, theorized that the increased sexual misconduct statistics in the 2022 report were due to a “growing awareness” of it “How Yale’s resources can help address sexual misconduct cases.”

Killheffer added that the 2022 data could indicate an “increase in disclosures since the return to on-campus living and learning following the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to previous reporting.

“With respect to the data collected and reported by the Title IX Office and Yale Police, we see fluctuations from year to year and cannot draw firm conclusions about the cause of these fluctuations,” Killheffer wrote to the News on Sunday about the 2023 data.

Killheffer noted that sexual misconduct on campus is underreported, as shown in recently released results of the 2024 Sexual Climate Survey. The survey found that only 46.4 percent of students who had experienced rape or sexual assault contacted a university program or information source to report the incident. This number has increased since 2019, when only 22.9 percent of these students reported.

When the university released the results of the sexual climate survey, it noted that the percentage of female students who experienced either rape or sexual assault on campus had increased since 2019 and 2014, the last two times such a survey was conducted was, has declined. Reported case numbers over the same period — which the Clery report does not differentiate by victim demographics — showed an opposite trend.

Killheffer suspected that the dissonance between the two data sets may arise because the Clery report only tabulates reported cases of misconduct, while the anonymous student survey allowed student participants to record experiences without formally reporting them to a campus authority.

“Increased awareness of resources may lead to increased reporting and use of campus services, even if surveys show declines in the estimated prevalence of certain behaviors,” Killheffer wrote. “We will continue to examine the current climate survey data and seek to explore connections between this data and the trends we see in the reports we collect.”

Lovello's statement to the News noted that the 2023 security report shows “an increase in motor vehicle theft, domestic violence/dating violence, burglary, robbery and aggravated assault.” He did not mention the rape and did not respond to further requests for comment about the omission. Lovello also did not provide a possible reason for the trend or explain specific department initiatives to address the rise in sexual misconduct.

“YPD continues to work with campus partners to educate the Yale community about the resources available to support domestic and dating violence and to create an environment where people feel comfortable reporting crimes,” Lovello wrote.

Motor vehicle thefts are increasing rapidly

By far the largest increase in reported crimes in 2023 was motor vehicle theft statistics. In 2023, 169 vehicles were stolen from Yale Public Safety's Clery reporting area – 64 on campus alone. That number represents a nearly 400 percent increase since 2022, when only 35 cars were stolen, 21 of them from campus.

Lovello attributed this drastic jump to the “nationwide 'Kia Challenge' trend on social media.” Since 2021, teenage gangs called “Kia Boyz” have frequently been involved in thefts of Kias and Hyundais – cars whose older models lack immobilizers, an electronic security device that can prevent car thefts.

Connecticut saw a 33 percent increase in car thefts statewide in 2023.

“To combat this trend, the Yale Police Department has partnered with the New Haven Police Department to reduce incidents across the city,” Lovello said.

The News reported in September that the Yale Police Department was involved in discussions with the New Haven Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies to create a task force to crack down on the Kia Boyz.

Lovello referred the News to his announcement in early October to increase security presence on campus for more details on public safety efforts to combat crime on campus.

Yale Public Safety is required to release its 2024 campus crime and fire incident statistics by October 1, 2025.