Annual security and fire report depicts drug referrals, burglary and fire information
The annual security and fires safety report displays information regarding fires and criminal activity that occurred between 2019 to 2021. Graphic by SUKHMAN SAHOTA, art director
Chapman recently released the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report for 2022, which showcases statistics related to crimes and fires on the Orange campus and Rinker campus between 2019 to 2021.
In Orange, the biggest crimes throughout the three-year period were burglaries and drug violations. From 2019 to 2021, there were 61 burglaries in total.
“Most of those burglaries were thefts from vehicles inside of a parking structure,” Chief of Public Safety Rick Gonzalez told The Panther. “We recently started a new campaign ‘Take, Lock, Hide.’ Take your valuables, lock your car (and) hide your property. A lot of those burglaries were vehicles that were left unlocked or had valuables in plain sight.”
Gonzalez also explained why referrals for drug violations are frequent around the Orange campus, with over 70 from 2019 to 2021.
“It is common to have multiple drug referrals in one single incident, especially inside of (Residence) Life,” Gonzalez said. “That is why the number for 2021 appears to be high. Res Life and Student Affairs has programs designed to educate students about the dangers of drug usage. They also conduct health and safety inspections.”
The annual report also referenced several small fires within Chapman student housing that caused little damage.
“Most of the fires inside of Res Life are cooking accidents,” Gonzalez said. “Our Fire and Life Safety Team conducts fire safety awareness training and fire extinguisher training to all Res Life staff. Res Life staff look for fire hazards during their health & safety inspections. Our Fire and Life Safety team also ensures that all buildings are in full code compliance by coordinating the inspection and testing of all fire safety systems on campus.”
Hate crimes occured infrequently on the Orange campus, the highest being six in 2020. Another notable trend in crimes from 2019 to 2021 are the decrease in motor vehicle thefts, from eight in 2021 and seven in 2020 to two in 2021.
The annual report is published by the Department of Public Safety in collaboration with the Dean of Students Office and Human Resources Department.
The report also follows the guidelines of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998, which requires universities that receive federal funds to publicly release an annual security report. According to the guidelines, the report must include campus crime statistics from the previous three years as well as plans for continuing to improve public safety measures on campus.
