Texas Tech University released its annual Security and Fire Safety Report last week, providing a comprehensive overview of campus crime statistics for 2023 and comparing it to data from recent years.
2024 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report: Texas Tech University Main Campus
The most noticeable change in this year’s report was a sharp rise in motor vehicle thefts in 2023.
In 2021, there were just two reports of these thefts occurring on campus, a number that jumped to eight in 2022 but spiked to 47 last year— an almost six hundred percent increase.
But the reason for the spike is not nearly as dramatic as the jump in numbers might make it seem.
According to Caitlynn Jeffries, Public Information Officer for the Texas Tech Police Department, this was the first year that the report counted personal electric bikes and scooters within the statistic.
“We want to make sure these students are getting their scooters, bicycles, whatever they might be— registered with the Transportation & Parking Services," Jeffries said. "When they do this, this helps us on the back end. If a scooter is stolen, or a bicycle is stolen, we can actually see right away who owns it.”
She says electric bikes and scooters have increased in popularity on campus due to their efficiency, and with that rise in popularity, there also has been a rise in theft.
“Make sure if you see something, say something. If you see something suspicious, make sure you report it to us and that’ll help us keep these numbers from being spiked," Jeffries added.
Drug-related arrests and violations declined by 27 percent in 2023 after a four percent increase the year prior.
Meanwhile Liquor law violations continued a decline. From ‘21 to ‘22, they declined by almost 18 percent. Last year, that decrease was closer to 14 percent.
The number of on-campus rape offenses has remained consistent over the past two years, with 22 reported in both 2022 and 2023.
However, there was an increase in rape occuring on quote “Non-campus property”, which includes student organization buildings, off-site educational areas and student travel locations.
Four of these specific offenses occurred last year, when only one occurred in 2021 or 2022.
After no hate crimes were reported in 2022, three were reported last year, two characterized by ethnicity and the other by religion. This is still fewer than 2021, when there were nine reported hate crimes in total, with all but one being racially-motivated.
This report combines incidents reported to the university and campus police with data collected by local law agencies about crimes with, on or near campus property.