Crimes reported in calendar year 2004 on property owned or controlled by the University of California, Davis, decreased in four of five key categories -- forcible sexual assaults, robbery, aggravated assaults and arson, according to statistics prepared in compliance with the Clery Act.

In addition, the number of total sex offenses (forcible and non-forcible) dropped from 35 in 2003 to 32 in 2004.

Meanwhile, the number of drug arrests and disciplinary actions for liquor increased, and the number of burglaries increased from 106 in 2003 to 122 in 2004. More than 60 percent of the reported burglaries occurred on the main campus. "This is one area on which we need to focus our efforts in the coming year through education and patrols," said UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza.

More than 70 percent of the sex offenses in 2004 were reported to the UC Davis Police Department's Campus Violence Prevention Program. "The Campus Violence Prevention Program was designed so that students and staff have a safe place to report sexual offenses," said Assistant Executive Vice Chancellor Bob Loessberg-Zahl.

The Campus Violence Prevention Program is dedicated to reducing the incidence of sexual assault, relationship violence, stalking and hate-based behavior in the campus community. The violence prevention program provides self-defense courses and preventive educational programs tailored to the needs of specific campus groups, in addition to counseling and victim support.

According to the Clery Act statistics, the number of aggravated assaults dropped from 40 in 2003 to 33 in 2004. The decrease took place mostly at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.

Especially noticeable was the reduction in reported vehicle thefts, from 54 in 2003 to 22 in 2004. Two-thirds of the reported vehicle thefts occurred at the medical center. In 2004, UC Davis Police and Parking Services stepped up their enforcement efforts and patrols at or near the medical center, and vehicle thefts declined from 36 in 2003 to 14 in 2004.

"One of the ways the UC Davis Police Department is ensuring the safety of students and staff is by conducting patrols not only at the medical center, but in the surrounding neighborhoods," said Spicuzza.

UC Davis police in 2004 made a total of 177 arrests for possession of controlled substance or drug paraphernalia. Nearly 50 percent of the 2004 arrests were in non-Clery reportable locations away from the medical center.

The number of liquor disciplinary cases increased from 218 in 2003 to 282 in 2004. This is in part reflective of the increase in the number of students living in residence halls. For instance, total residence hall occupancy increased from 4,204 in 2002-2003 to 4,472 in 2003-2004. More than 80 percent of the liquor violations took place in campus residence halls. UC Davis has strict policies on liquor usage in the dorms. For example, students are cited for letting others drink in their room, even though they may not be drinking themselves.

Drug disciplinary actions dropped -- from 40 in 2003 to 36 in 2004 -- and weapon disciplinary actions also dropped, from 16 in 2003 to only two in 2004.

"The Clery Act statistics are one of many tools the campus uses to advise students and employees of safety risks and to guide our efforts in mitigating the risks," noted Loessberg-Zahl. "We are committed to ensuring the safety of students and employees who live, work, and learn at UC Davis."

Prepared in accordance with the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, the 2004 report includes six categories of crimes against persons (non-negligent manslaughter, negligent manslaughter, forcible sex offenses, non-forcible sex offenses, robbery and aggravated assault) and three against property (arson, burglary and motor vehicle thefts).

The 2004 Clery Report also shows the number of arrests and disciplinary actions for liquor, drugs and weapons.

Here are the data on other specific crimes:

• The number of reported forcible sex offenses on university-affiliated property decreased from 35 in 2003 to 32 in 2004. In addition there was one non-forcible sex offense in 2004, up from none the previous year. The majority of sex offenses occurred in student residences.
• The number of reported aggravated assaults dropped from 40 in 2003 to 33 in 2004. More than half were reported on the main campus or on public property adjacent to the main campus, including about one third in student residences; 15 percent were reported at the medical center.
• The number of reported robberies also dropped, from 12 in 2003 to eight in 2004, while the number of burglaries increased, from 106 in 2003 to 122 in 2004. Nearly two-thirds of the burglaries took place on the main campus or on adjacent public property.
• Arson reports dropped from eight to six, and reports of weapons arrests declined from 12 to 10. Sixty percent of the weapons arrests occurred on the medical center grounds or on public property adjacent to the medical center.

The Clery Act requires colleges and universities to report statements of security policy and statistics for the specified crimes reported for defined locations on and adjacent to college campuses, the school's other properties and the properties of registered student organizations. Universities and colleges report the information to the U.S. Department of Education and must also make the information and annual statistics available to current and prospective students and employees each fall.

Clery Act statistics are compiled under substantially different reporting requirements than those imposed by the FBI. Many of the Clery crimes were not reported to the police or formally investigated by police to verify if a crime occurred. Non-police "campus security authorities" such as housing, counseling or judicial affairs staff received a substantial number of reports. Therefore, it is difficult to make direct comparisons between the Clery and FBI statistics.

Clery Act data for calendar year 2004 is available at the UC Davis Police Department's Web site: http://police.ucdavis.edu/clery/index.htm.