Photo Submitted by Audriana Thomas
Florida A&M University displayed its annual fire and safety reports on its website at the start of October.
FAMU has faced some criticism for its handling of issues like sexual assault, rape and several other issues. However, the university does not stand alone. Many institutions have been accused of downplaying or concealing criminal offenses committed on campuses.
FAMU’s Fire and Safety report opening echoed university President Larry Robinson’s Op-ed published in the Tallahassee Democrat with the consistent reference to the success of programs being a joint effort of both staff and students.
The university had approximately 10,031 students enrolled in the fall semester of 2018. During that time, Florida A&M saw an almost 18 percent decrease in reported on-campus crimes during the course of that year.
FAMU saw a 70 percent increase in reported on-campus drug abuse violations in 2018 . The sharp jump from 30 to 51 violations sharply contrasted with trends from other institutions in the Florida State University System.
University of Central Florida saw a nine percent decrease, while Florida International University saw an astonishing 69 percent decrease in on-campus drug law referrals during 2018.
Reported on-campus robberies at FAMU remained stagnant with only one occurrence in both 2017 and 2018. Across the tracks at Florida State, where the student enrollment for 2018 was 41,717, on-campus robberies hit a three-year low with only two robberies occurring.
A common issue among Florida public universities, and perhaps all secondary education institutions, is a spike in reported on-campus rapes.
A recent survey of 33 schools throughout the U.S. conducted by the Association of American Universities, revealed that one in four female undergrads admitted to having been sexually assaulted. The survey also concluded that undergraduate students are more likely to report incidents than graduate students.
FAMU had no reported on-campus rapes in 2017 and experienced five during 2018. FSU experienced a 66 percent increase, jumping from four during 2017, to 12 reported rapes on campus during 2018. FIU saw a 166 percent increase, having 10 more reported on campus rapes occur in 2018 than 2017.
While the numbers of reported on-campus rapes increased, there are still many that appear to be going unreported.
On campus motor thefts at FAMU increased slightly during 2018. There were three reported on-campus motor thefts. FSU also experienced a higher number of motor thefts during 2018. FSU had 28 on-campus motor thefts, which is nine more than the year prior.
More information on the full Fire and Safety report can be found on Florida A&M University Police Department’s website.