The number of almost all non-alcoholic and non-drug-related crimes reported across ASU's four metropolitan Phoenix campuses decreased in 2020, according to the University's annual crime statistics report published Friday.
The report, which analyzed crimes that took place in 2020, shows reported crimes across the four campuses decreased from nearly 1,680 in 2019 to slightly above 1,450.
There were 1,243 crimes reported on the Tempe campus in 2020, a decrease of over 170 crimes from 2019 when just over 1,420 crimes were reported on the campus.
There were 144 crimes reported on the Downtown Phoenix campus, 34 on the West campus and 32 on the Polytechnic campus, according to the report.
Drug, alcohol and weapon arrests and referrals made up 1,353 of the 1,453 crimes reported across the four campuses.
“The police department’s mission is to provide a safe and secure environment where all community members can study, live, work, and conduct research,” said Michael L. Thompson, chief of police, on the introductory page of the report.
Violent Crimes
All 17 reports of rape in 2020 were on the Tempe campus.
There were nine reports of aggravated assault in 2020, the same as in 2019. Of the reports, six were from the Tempe campus, two from the Downtown Phoenix campus and one from the West campus.
There were 10 fondling reports across the four main campuses, a decrease from the 23 cases reported in 2019. Nine of the reports were on the Tempe campus and one on the Downtown Phoenix campus. There were no reports of fondling made on the West or Polytechnic campuses.
There were no cases of manslaughter or murder on any ASU campus, the same as the last four years.
Theft
There were 20 burglaries on the Tempe campus and two on the Polytechnic campus in 2020.
There were 17 motor vehicle theft cases reported in 2020. Of the cases, 13 occurred on the Tempe campus, two on the West campus, one on the Downtown Phoenix campus and one on the Polytechnic campus.
There was only one report of robbery in 2020, which was on the Tempe campus. In 2019, there were three robberies on the Tempe campus, three on the Downtown Phoenix campus and none on the West and Polytechnic campuses.
Domestic Violence, Dating Violence and Stalking
Reports of dating violence, domestic violence and stalking on the Tempe campus decreased from 31 in 2019 to 17 in 2020.
There were eight reports of dating violence overall, seven of which occurred on the Tempe campus and one that occurred on the West campus.
Cases of stalking at the Polytechnic campus increased from zero in 2019 to two in 2020. The Downtown Phoenix campus also had one case of stalking reported in 2020.
Drugs, Alcohol and Weapons
There were 240 total drug arrests across the four main campuses in 2020. Of the 240 arrests, 196 occurred on the Tempe campus.
There was a total of 234 drug referrals across the four campuses, 187 of which were from the Tempe campus.
There were 53 alcohol arrests across the four main campuses in 2020, 52 of which occurred on the Tempe campus and one on the Downtown Phoenix campus.
The total number of alcohol referrals on the four campuses was 818 in 2020. Of the total cases, 716 occurred on the Tempe campus.
In 2020, there were eight arrests for weapons across the four campuses. Seven of those arrests came from the Tempe campus and one came from the Downtown Phoenix campus.
There were no referrals for weapons in 2020.
Other Notable Statistics
Neither the Barrett and O'Connor Washington Center campus in Washington, D.C. nor the California Center campus, which relocated from its location in Santa Monica to Downtown Los Angeles in Fall 2021, reported any crimes.
The School of Social Work campus in Tucson reported no crimes for its second straight year since it was qualified as a campus in 2019. The Lake Havasu campus also reported no crimes, a drop from its three reports in 2019.
There were no reports of hate crimes in 2020.
Reach the reporter at caera@asu.edu and follow @CaeraLearmonth on Twitter.
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Caera Learmonth is a full-time reporter for the Community and Culture desk. She was previously the Executive Editor of her high school newspaper and has taken journalism programs at the School of the New York Times and University of Southern California.
