The importance of safety on Fairfield University’s campus was highlighted yesterday with the release of the 2009 Jeanne Clery report, compiled and released by the University’s Department of Public Safety.
The data in the report reflected a minor increase in the occurrence rates of a number of dangerous or criminal campus activities despite the department’s diligent and proactive handling of many dangerous situations on campus.
The most notable of the changes in the 2009 statistics at Fairfield University was the dramatic increase in the number of liquor law violation disciplinary referrals. 1,285 referrals were reported over the course of the 2008 academic year, up from 900 referrals in 2007 and 756 referrals in 2006.
Frank Ficko, the associate director of Fairfield University’s Department of Public Safety, acknowledged the significant increase in referrals, saying, “Maybe we had good Resident Assistants last year, maybe we were more reactive, or maybe students were sloppier last year.”
He could not pinpoint a particular reason, instead explaining that many different components likely contributed to the problem.
However, the increases in the occurrence of unsafe activities across campus were small in relativity to the number of students enrolled in the University and should not reflect poorly on the actions of the Department of Public Safety at Fairfield. Along with the increases, there were also many notable decreases in categories such as burglaries, drug abuse violation referrals, and larcenies.
Issued annually by every secondary school in the country as required by federal law, the report provides statistics highlighting the number of occurrences of different commonplace criminal issues on campuses, including larcenies, sexual offenses, and hate crimes. The data is compiled from a variety of campus resources and offices, including the Dean’s office and data logs from the Department of Public Safety.
This year’s report included a few new components as well, including amendments concerning hate crimes and emergency evacuation procedures. These new amendments increased the strict nature of the report, implementing fresh guidelines for reporting statistics and expanding the definition of hate crimes. In addition, the new rules allowed for the availability of the report in both digital and paper form. Anyone interested may find copies either on Stagweb or in the offices of the Department of Public Safety.
Public Safety adapted their data to comply with all of the new requirements of the report, and illustrated their serious dedication to the integrity of the report. As Ficko points out, the report records “who you are, what you do, [and] why you do it”, leaving very little room for masking the reality of rule violations. If schools do attempt to hide their safety problems when filing their reports, they risk serious punishment – each violation comes with a fine of $27,500.
“It doesn’t matter [if a school is] public or private, everybody must comply” with the requirements of the report, Ficko noted. Yet not all schools report to the same quality level as Fairfield.
“It’s a little frustrating,” Ficko said, when schools attempt to hide their real statistics by bending the guidelines as set forth by the Clery report. He takes great pride in the accuracy of Fairfield’s report, and even goes beyond the requirements of the report. Ficko wants to provide as much information as possible to members of the university community and the outside population, and includes categories that are not necessary in order to improve the quality of his data.
“I have [the statistics for] larcenies in my report,” Ficko said. “It’s not required.” He includes extra information in his report because he believes it is in “the spirit of the Clery [report] - to give everyone an idea of what’s going on.”
“Everyone wants to know how safe their kid’s going to be” at school, he said.
“I feel really safe on Fairfield’s campus, especially in light of the incidents that have happened recently at other schools nearby,” said James Mathews ’12. “It’s nice to know that Public Safety is always available to help, and is prepared to respond to a serious problem if necessary.”
Sophomore Sarah Paulus agreed with the feeling of safety on campus, saying, “Public Safety takes precautions to minimize trespassers and strangers on campus, and they’re always available if you need help.”
Rather than giving credit for the immense level of safety on Fairfield’s campus solely to the Public Safety officers, Ficko acknowledges the members of the campus community for creating their own safe environment.
“It’s everyone looking out for each other’s back,” that keeps the campus so safe, he said. As long as individuals continue to look out for one another, he said, the campus will continue to be a safe place for students and other University community members.
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