Clery Report shows increase in reported interpersonal violence

The 2016 Clery Act report was released by the University Friday, providing statistics on crimes committed on campus in the last year.

The report also includes statistics from past years — from 2013 on — and tracks trends in reports of interpersonal violence on campus.

The report shows interpersonal violence incidents — specifically stalking and dating violence — have increased at UNC since 2013.

Incidents of stalking rose to 35 incidents reported in 2015 from 14 in 2013, while dating violence rose to 17 incidents reported in 2015 from five in 2013.

Jeff McCracken, director of the Department of Public Safety, said when looking at the Clery reports, he was most struck by the increase in stalking reports.

“The reason for a change there really has to do with our focus on promoting information about services throughout the University, which has encouraged more people to come forward and file reports,” he said.

Alison Kiss, executive director of the Clery Center for Security on Campus, said although these numbers have increased, that doesn’t necessarily mean the campus is less safe than before.

Kiss said the national reports are deeper than the numbers, and most of the time, higher numbers involving interpersonal violence mean the institution is doing more to encourage students who have experienced these crimes to come forward.

“We see numbers higher around these crimes when the campus is doing more outreach, more education to let students know they aren’t perpetuating culture but creating an environment where they can report and get help if they need it,” she said.

Junior Elizabeth Davidson, co-chairperson of Project Dinah, a student organization that provides resources for survivors of interpersonal violence, said these higher numbers were a good thing.

“We want survivors to feel safe about speaking out and I think the numbers reflect a trend toward that goal, rather than an increase in violence,” she said.

The University also houses various training sessions, services and educational opportunities, such as Project Dinah, for those who have experienced interpersonal violence.

“We try to educate the campus community by providing resources to survivors and allies, and we advocate for and empower survivors by uplifting and amplifying their voices,” Davidson said.

McCracken said his department offers programming throughout the year on various safety topics as an effort to make sure people know how to access available services.

“Any crime that we have is too much,” McCracken said. “We’re always trying to address those issues and try to reduce them if we can.”

university@dailytarheel.com