The 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report (ASFSR), or Clery Report, was released to students on Sept. 30. 

The 2019 ASFSR covers the crime statistics generated from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2018. It also features information from 2016 and 2017.

The Higher Education Opportunity Act and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act requires the ASFSR’s publication.

“The report is published for [the community’s] knowledge and use,” said Melinda Heikkinen, director of Hamline Public Safety. “Hamline Public Safety believes that an informed community is a stronger community.”

The Clery Act has specific requirements for what can be included in the report.

“It is important to be educated about how those numbers are pulled together,” Heikkinen said. “If you look at our daily crime log, that is a requirement of the Clery Act, but if you would compare it to the actual Clery report, it looks like there are discrepancies, but not all those crimes are  necessarily reportable in our Security and Fire Safety reports.” 

According to the report, in 2018 Hamline saw three rape cases. This is one more than in 2017 and one less than in 2016. Hamline also saw four cases of fondling in 2018, two more than 2017 and the same amount as 2016. Three of these cases occurred in student housing, while one occurred elsewhere on campus. 

Notably, burglary continues to be a problem on campus. There were 11 cases of burglary reported in the last two years. Vehicle theft, which included four cases in 2016, was down to one case in 2018, and that case was later discovered to be an accident after the owner of the vehicle forgot where they parked. 

Additionally included in the report is data about the residential facilities’ fire safety systems. The locations it includes are Drew Hall, Hamline Apartments, Manor Hall, Osborn, Peterson, Schilling, Sorin, Hmong House, HALO House, and Pride House. In the past three years, none of these residential locations experienced any fires. 

As for how Public Safety is responding to the report, “it is already a year old, so we don’t wait for the report to come out to assess if we need to adapt or outright change policies and processes. It is an active ongoing process,” Heikkinen said, “When we make changes, we need to make sure our Hamline community is aware of these changes.”

Senior Halima Ahmed, who used to work at Public Safety, shared the importance of students having access to these reports.

“[The report] provides information on how you can report sexual offenses, domestic violence and stalking, hate crimes and other incidents,” Ahmed said. “In light of recent events where the personal safety and space of many students, specifically people of color, have been threatened, it’s important that we know that incidents of hate can be reported to Public Safety.”

For access to the daily crime log visit: hamline.edu/public-safety/daily-crime-logs/

For access to any other Public Safety reports visit: hamline.edu/public-safety/reports/