The campus Annual Security and Safety Report made available by the Clery Act shows crimes like burglary and motor vehicle theft are becoming less common on campus, but more students are being arrested for liquor law violations.
The statistics divided the University into three sections.
One is on campus, which refers to all buildings owned by the University located within a specific perimeter.
Another is non-campus, which refers to University- owned buildings located outside that perimeter.
The third is public property, which are places within the perimeter that do not belong to the University.
The report statistics available on the University Web site are from 2006, 2007 and 2008.
"What we've tried to do is a combination of technology, manpower and education to highlight safety and security on campus," said Melvin Owens, executive director of public safety and security.
Owens said he thinks the reason for the decrease in campus crime is partially because of increased security presence on campus, but he also acknowledges an increase of students advocating for their own safety.
When compiling the statistics, Owens said the safety department takes note of any anomalies or sudden increases.
The department will discuss what could have caused them and how it should deal with them.
The University has worked to make campus more secure by extending the use of the campus shuttle system, increasing the amount of surveillance cameras on campus as well as partnering with AlliedBarton to place officers in places like parking lots and residential areas to provide additional eyes and ears for campus safety, Owens said.
"What we have tried to do is there is increased police presence with emphasis on crime prevention," Owens said. "So (we) signed an agreement with AlliedBarton so they will walk routes around residential areas, so that's also a security presence."
There has also been emphasis placed on educational programming which encourages students to be responsible for securing their property, Owens said.
Owens also said he thinks students are coming to Auburn more aware of their surroundings and the importance of making sure they lock their doors and secure their belongings.
However, while theft seems to be less of a problem now than it was a couple years ago, the University has seen more students getting in trouble for liquor law violations.
But the University has an interesting arrangement with the Auburn Police Department about how they deal with those situations.
Instead of arresting students for being intoxicated on campus during events like football games, police will refer those students to the University's Student Discipline Department.
"With the city being the law enforcement for the campus, it's up to their discretion," Owens said. "So if they encounter it, and it's an offense that they believe that needs to be handled then, they don't come to us and say, 'OK, what do you think about this?' They handle it, then we get the report after."
This system gives students a chance to reform their behavior without getting a criminal record, Assistant Police Chief Tommy Dawson said.
"Well, it's just one of those things you have to look at on a case by case basis," Dawson said.
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