John Carroll released its official 2020 crime report for the University. The report discusses both the number and type of offenses that occurred in the campus community during the year 2020. However, the numbers presented may not be entirely indicative of the community environment because the majority of the last school year was virtual. 

Crime rates in totality went down 21% from 2019 to 2020. Burglary, which previously had three recorded incidents in 2019, had no recorded offenses in this past year. Sexual assault also decreased by 29%. Stalking and date violence, which were previously recorded six times across 2018 and 2019, had no reported instances in 2020. While no robberies were noted in either 2018 or 2019, there was one instance recorded for 2020. Across all three years, there were no cases recorded of homicide, manslaughter, arson, vehicular theft or aggravated assault. 

Overall, a majority of the crimes that occurred on campus were specifically those regarding sexual assault. The instance of robbery was the only crime that was reported which occurred off campus. 

Referrals regarding alcohol, drugs and weapons also decreased in the year 2020. However, three liquor law arrests were documented for the year 2020 when previously there were none. The report also says that there were no confirmed hate crimes on campus. 

Chief Brian Hurd said in a statement within the report that “a safe and secure environment is a vital component of campus life at John Carroll University. The JCUPD takes seriously their charge to maintain a safe campus, and to foster a sense of safety, so that our entire campus community can thrive. It is our job to be proactive in our presence, programming and patrolling, and responsive to any routine or emergency situation.” 

While the lack of crime could be attributed to the limited students on campus, there is still hope that this downward trend will continue into this school year.