Content warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault.
For over 20 years, federal regulations have mandated that American universities maintain detailed logs of reported campus crime. These regulations are a part of the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, which also includes requirements for the release of annual security reports and issuing of timely warnings.
The Herald analyzed University records dating back to 2019, the earliest publicly available data, to understand the trends and evolution of crime at Brown. The records contain all crimes and alleged crimes reported to campus security offices, such as the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management, according to S. Daniel Carter, an expert on campus safety legislation.
“The intention was always that the campus crime log was intended for student journalists as the primary audience,” said Carter, who helped develop the implementing procedures for the crime log, in an interview with The Herald. “So the purpose was to give campus communities a sense of what was being reported to the campus police department that had previously not existed.”
Between January 2019 and October 2026, DPS officials received over 1,500 crime reports, including 698 reports of larceny, 268 reports of vandalism and 86 reports of rape, according to the crime logs.
“While the University has enhanced its processes over the years, fundamentally, the goal has remained consistent — to ensure that the University shares information about crimes occurring on or near campus with the campus community,” University spokesperson Brian Clark said in a statement to The Herald.
In 2019, 18 rapes were reported to have occurred, tied with 2023 for the most occurrences in a single year, according to the crime logs.
That number dropped dramatically as students left campus during the COVID-19 pandemic years. After a second peak in 2023, reports of rape have declined. Four rapes were reported to have occurred in 2024, three in 2025 and two so far in 2026.
Clark said that there are “many factors that may explain changes in year-to-year incident rates in some crime statistics categories,” citing lower reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic and discrepancies between when an incident occurred and when it was reported.
National discourse surrounding sexual assault on college campuses has heightened following recent allegations that a Cornell student was raped by seven men at a fraternity house in 2024. Cornell officials disclosed that incident to the community in a campus-wide email.
According to Carter, the Clery Act mandates that universities issue so-called timely warnings when a crime “presents an ongoing threat to students and employees.”
Universities may also struggle in “determining what reflects an ongoing threat when you have a sexual assault when the parties know each other,” he added.
Administrators have the final discretion to decide whether to issue a notification to the community, Carter said.
Clark noted that Brown has issued timely warnings in the past for crimes involving sexual assault “depending on the specific circumstances.”
“Many factors — such as time between an incident and when it is reported, and in particular whether the University determines that there is a serious or ongoing threat to other community members — play a part in those decisions,” Clark wrote in a statement.
Larceny has been a commonly reported crime since 2019, according to the crime logs. Excluding pandemic years 2020 and 2021, the number of larcenies reported remained largely consistent over the years — ranging from 88 in 2024 to 115 in 2019.
But in 2025, there were 23 more reports of larceny than in the previous year, an increase of around 27%.
Stolen items have ranged from scooters and wallets to a gumball machine and a hand-carved bear. Since 2022, the most-reported stolen items were bicycles, at 136, and the second-most were scooters, at 92. Backpacks and wallets were tied for the third-most-reported stolen items, at a distant 15.
Larcenies, as with all other reported crimes, are recorded in the crime logs. Annual security reports — which include details of future initiatives to improve campus safety — only include reported statistics mandated by the Clery Act. For example, the report must include statistics on specific crimes — such as hazing, aggravated assault and arson.
The Clery Act was designed to offer some different information from the crime logs and timely warnings, according to Paul Hinkle, the assistant director of programs at the Clery Center, a nonprofit dedicated to crime reporting.
These different forms of reporting “are meant to be complementary,” Hinkle said. “That really creates a comprehensive approach to that safety environment.”
The Nelson Fitness Center, Keeney Quadrangle and the Sharpe Refectory saw the most reports of larceny since 2019, according to the crime logs.
Forty larcenies were reported at the Nelson, 28 were reported at Keeney and 27 were reported at the Ratty, excluding attempted larcenies and incidents reclassified as lost property.
Two places not often frequented by undergraduates — the Department of Facilities Management, located near the Nelson at 295 Lloyd Ave., and the Medical Education building, located in the Jewelry District at 222 Richmond St. — also ranked in the top 10 locations with the most reported larcenies.
James Libresco is a senior staff writer covering staff & student labor. He is a sophomore from Alexandria, Va. studying political science and contemplative studies. In his free time, he can be found playing basketball, meditating, or losing in Among Us.
Caleb is from Madison, Wisconsin, and thus loves all things cheese and sports. He also loves data, and is excited to work on projects investigating the wealth of data about our university. When Caleb's not frantically coding up the next data desk project, you can find him devouring a chicken Caesar wrap at V-Dub (indisputably the greatest creation of Brown dining).
Emily Feil is a university news and metro editor covering staff & student labor and RISD. She is from Long Beach, NY and plans to concentrate in English and international & public affairs. In her free time, she can be found watching bad TV and reading good books.
Michelle Bi is a metro editor covering City Hall & Crime and State Politics & Justice. She is a junior from Oak Park, CA and studies English and IAPA. In her free time, you can find her playing guitar, the LA Times crossword or one of her 115 Spotify playlists.
