photo by: Sara Shepherd

KU Office of Public Safety patrol vehicle, pictured June 2016.

Crime reports at the University of Kansas’ Lawrence campus have largely risen back to pre-pandemic levels, according to KU’s Public Safety Office, with the exception of some violent crimes.

The office shared its annual crime data this week, showing a 41% increase in criminal activity from 2020 to 2021, with 474 total reports. In the previous year, the coronavirus had ended in-person classes in March 2020, and reported crimes fell to 336 incidents, down from 483 incidents in 2019.

“The numbers reflect that more people were back to living on campus and that KU returned to a more pre-pandemic level of activities in 2021,” said KU Chief of Police Nelson Mosley.

This was especially evident in theft reports. Theft topped the list in 2021 as the most-reported crime with 171 total incidents, including 52 thefts from buildings, 49 thefts from vehicles, six thefts of motor vehicle parts, and 54 other thefts. The second-highest-reported crime was criminal damage with 102 reports.

The sharpest decrease from pre-pandemic levels was drug violations, dropping from 108 in 2019 to 32 in 2021, according to the report.

Violent assaults were down from pre-pandemic levels, however. In 2021, 13 assaults were reported, compared with seven in 2020 and 25 in 2019.

Reported sexual offenses were three rapes in 2021, the same as the pre-pandemic number in 2019. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, seven sex crimes were reported, including two rapes and three incidents of fondling.

If unable to view document below, click here to download PDF file.

PDF