Robinson, the Northeastern professor, said she is not surprised that Harvard’s burglary numbers significantly surpass other campuses’ numbers.
“To me those numbers don’t sound extremely high when you consider how many opportunities there are for crime on the Harvard campus,” Robinson said. “Simple accounting differences can make a difference. We see those same data recording problems on the national level.”
But Yale University Police Department spokesman Walter Northrop confirmed that Yale’s statistics follow the definition given by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report, in which larcenies are classified under the burglary category.
And the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—which reported only 108 burglaries in 2004, up from 101 in 2003 and 34 in 2002—claims to include larcenies of unforced entry into unlocked areas under the burglary category.
But comparing across schools may be a fruitless endeavor, Catalano said.
“Every school operates in an individual context,” he said. “I always hesitate when people start to compare schools because every school is different. We don’t wait for a final tally at the end of the year. If we see a spike, we’re going to respond to that. We’re conducting crime analysis and responding accordingly on an ongoing basis.”
THE NUMBERS GAME
Statistics show a tripling in drug violations reported to the Administrative Board. The numbers progressed from two in 2002 to four in 2003 to 12 last year. Secretary of the Ad Board John “Jay” Ellison, who is also assistant dean of the College, said that although 12 instances were reported to the Ad Board, not all the cases were investigated.
“Why there was a spike in incidents that were reported, I have no idea,” Ellison wrote in an e-mail. “There was no policy in place to crack down on any incidents but we have made a more concerted effort to be consistent in our reporting practices.”
As far as drug arrests, HUPD made eight last year on campus, but only two of those eight involved the arrest of a Harvard student.
Although the release of all these statistics is mandated by law, Catalano said these numbers allow students to make reasoned judgments concerning crime on campus for themselves.
“The release of these numbers puts things in context on a campus such as this, where there are various forms of communication—one or two isolated issues could really make it seem like there is a greater problem,” Catalano added. “We’re a transparent department. We demonstrate that transparency by including our larceny numbers. It allows people to make informed decisions about the true amount of crime on campus.”
—Staff writer Robin M. Peguero can be reached at peguero@fas.harvard.edu.