SALT LAKE CITY — A notable statistic from the University of Utah's annual security report shows that rape cases remain high at the school.
The report details crime statistics from the previous year and is a stipulation of the Clery Act, which requires college campuses to share information about crime-related statistics with students.
“It’s ultimately about consumer protection,”
“It’s consumer protection," said the university's associate director of Clery compliance, Todd Justesen. "Because now anyone can go on our website, look at the statistics and say, ‘I would like to send my student to the school. I would like, as a student, to go to the school, or faculty and staff may say, ‘I would like to retain or maybe go to the University of Utah’ by reading this kind of security report.”
There were 146 total rape cases in 2024, which is lower than the 175 reported in 2023 and higher than the 30 cases in 2022. Last year's higher volume is attributed to one survivor reporting 110 rapes during a multi-month relationship. Both people in that relationship were students. and have since graduated.
Aggravated assault reports tripled in number at the school, from seven in 2023 to 21 in 2024, including 14 at the U of U’s Health campus.
Motor vehicle thefts increased from seven two years ago to 35 last year, which includes e-scooters, e-bikes, and e-skateboards as auto thefts. Of those cases, 22 involved e-bikes, e-scooters, or e-skateboards: three were golf cart thefts and seven were thefts from remote locations.
The report is two-fold, with another aspect containing the school’s Campus Climate Survey. It takes into account how students are dealing with the crimes on a day-to-day basis and how to prevent them.
Rachel Aho, who works in Student Initiatives and Affairs at the university, says their goal is to work towards various interventions and let students know what resources are available to them.
“We have seen improvement from previous surveys in students’ understanding of prevention and types of behavior that include bystander behavior, that includes understanding of what consent means and how to actually then put that into action within the relationships that they’re engaging in,” says Aho.
The report, which is released to students after it’s published, lists those resources. A list the school hopes to build on in the years to come, in hopes that they see less campus crime.
“We continue to invest in those efforts and really want to make sure that students understand we’re here for them,” said Aho. “We are here to help them navigate their university journey with success.”
