UH CRIME
Crime at UH Downtown
By Darian Ellis
The purpose of this page is to help show comparisons of different crime aspects of both campuses for University of Houston.
College has been viewed as a pivotal path that helps to attribute to both academic and personal growth. It is within this short time frame that students learn key skills that can help them navigate their future professional spaces. It is also during this time they cultivate relationships that can ultimately impact their futures.
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Crime is an inevitable circumstance surrounding everyday life. Therefore, it is important that students research and understand how their college has been affected by crime. This can help prepare them to take the necessary precautions to ensure they have the best experience possible.
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The Clery Act, which requires public and private colleges and universities to disclose information about certain crimes that occur on or near campus, helps to provide transparency about any criminal activity that may occur during their time at university. All colleges that receive federal funding must disclose information in an Annual Security Report (ASR) as well as a detailed Daily Crime Log. Using the information provided by the University of Houston during 2018-2022, this project was created.
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The initial question necessary to begin this project was to determine which university would be explored to successfully compare. The University of Houston Downtown was determined to be the most relevant due to its proximity to UH-Main Campus as well as being in a high traffic area of Downtown Houston. Although there is a smaller student population, the crime statistics were impactful.
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Criminal Trespassing was the most frequent violation at UHD from 2018-2021.
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“Access to buildings and facilities require students to present university identification. If someone is unable to present that, we issue a citation.”
- UH Downtown Police Corporal Tabitha Rivera
However, there is a great excuse for this. According to Police Corporal Tabitha Rivera of the University of Houston Police Department, the cause for this high number is due mainly to the homeless population in the downtown area. “Access to buildings and facilities require students to present university identification. If someone is unable to present that, we issue a citation.”
Theft is second in violations at the university. Police Corporal Rivera advises that “students are always aware of their surroundings. Additionally, students should never leave personal belongings around others that they don’t know. Many theft reports are due to students leaving their belongings in libraries or study rooms unattended.”
When are crimes most likely to occur on campus?
The majority of crimes at UH Main Campus and UHD are in the afternoon between 12pm – 6pm. This is when the majority of students are on campus.
CRIME RATE DIFFERENCES
This interactive visualization helps to show how the rate of crime changed over the years from 2018 to 2021. Although UH Main started with a very high crime rate in 2018 at 51%, there was a steady decline in the crime violations over the years. However, UH Downtown saw an increase in its crime rate of 7% from 2018-2019. Afterwards, the university showed a constant decrease in its crime rate.
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It is very important to note that student population size makes a considerable difference when comparing these two campuses. In 2021, UH Main had a total of 47,031 students enrolled. UH Downtown only had 15,077. We must correctly analyze the rate of crime as to not misrepresent danger on campuses. Theft shows a wide margin of difference between the two campuses of almost 4%. However assault only has a difference of .14%. This is shocking considering the large population difference between the colleges.
Can you depend on campus police?
Daily life as a college student has its challenges. Worrying about being the potential victim of a crime can only make it worse. It’s important that university police maintain trust with its community of students. UH Main campus has not resolved 43% of their cases in 2021. UH Downtown has not resolved 41% of their cases in 2021. Understanding this data can be reassuring to students that if they were to be a potential victim, justice would be promptly served.
Overall, the majority of students at the University of Houston and UH Downtown aren't impacted by crime. However it is important to make smart decisions and prepare ahead to avoid potential conflicts.
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