Drug Arrests Up 34% in Survey of Colleges

WASHINGTON —  The number of drug arrests increased sharply on the nation’s college campuses in 1993 while murder, rape and burglary rates declined, according to an annual survey.

Campus officials reported a total of 4,837 drug-related arrests, 34.3% more than the 3,601 reported for 1992. The numbers were contained in a survey of 796 schools released today by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Aggravated assaults rose by 2.7%, but the number of rapes declined by 19.9% and burglary dropped 4.5%.

A total of 15 murders were committed, down from the 17 reported in 1992, the survey found.

A three-year-old federal law requires colleges to compile crime statistics and provide them to students and staff. The chronicle based its data on the security reports of 796 colleges and universities with enrollments over 5,000.

Although they worry about a general increase in violent campus crime, school officials caution that higher numbers may simply indicate more aggressive law enforcement and more accurate reporting.

Differences in the way crimes are reported and categorized may also skew campus crime data, school officials say. Rapes, for example, are not always included in the statistics from campus police if the assaults were reported only to residential advisers or campus rape crisis centers.

“We feel pretty secure here,” said Carol Selkin, spokeswoman for Cal State Los Angeles, which reported one killing, two rapes, seven robberies and three aggravated assaults.

Stepped-up patrols at campus parking lots and remote-controlled cameras recently mounted on buildings helped decrease vehicle thefts from 96 in 1992 to 54 in 1993, Selkin said.

One person was arrested for a drug-related offense and six were taken into custody for weapons violations at the school.