UC Davis Asks Sacramento Bee to Retract Article on Crime Reporting

Due to the documentation of widespread inaccuracies in The Sacramento Bee's two-part report (Sept. 24 and 25) on the reporting of campus crime, particularly sexual assaults, the University of California, Davis, has taken the unprecedented step of formally asking editors of The Bee to retract their story regarding UC Davis. "We are concerned that The Bee stories may in fact chill the willingness of students to seek the services that provide advocacy and support in a confidential manner. The article ignores 23 years of UC Davis commitment to prevention programs and support services," wrote Carol Wall, vice chancellor for student affairs, and Janet Hamilton, vice chancellor for administration, in a nine-page letter to Bee editors requesting the retraction. The campus is publicizing this retraction request because numerous media outlets have replicated The Bee's erroneous reports. "Taking alleged 'shortcomings' in statistical reporting and turning them into a deliberate effort to keep crime 'in the shadows' is a substantial leap indeed. This representation is not true, and irresponsible to publish," the letter states. In addition, UC Davis noted that it is inviting the U.S. Department of Education to make a site visit to the campus to review campus crime reporting practices. This invitation is "a reflection of the campus's good-faith efforts to comply with the law, and in demonstration of the fact that we have nothing to hide from students, employees and the community," the vice chancellors wrote. A copy of the complete retraction letter to The Bee is available upon request by contacting Lisa Lapin, (530) 752-9842, lalapin@ucdavis.edu.