April is always a busy month on campus. The school year is ending, finals are being taken, and the weather is getting warm. Students are ready for summer break and as the year comes to a close, it can only mean one thing: it’s time for a crime review.

The fall 2021 semester was marked by a drastic increase in sexual battery reports during the month of November. However, there was a decrease in reported assaults and destruction of property throughout the semester. Also, hit and runs and DUIs were down as well from the previous spring, thankfully. The one crime that did increase was general larceny throughout October.

The most noticeable crime-adjacent news this year was the termination of a Juice Bar employee in the Webb Center. Following a viral social media post shared by ConfessODU, the Juice Bar acknowledged a hiring mistake that led to their employment of a felon due to their failure to perform a criminal background check.

Anthony Termaine Colemen was on probation for a felony offense on charges of child sex trafficking when the Juice Bar hired him. A Freedom of Information Act request was submitted to ODU by the Mace & Crown for further information about JuiceBar employees on Nov. 18. However, ODU FOIA correspondents have not acknowledged nor responded to this request.

Moving on, this spring semester has been marked by increased numbers of reported larcenies, destruction of property, and assaults. May through the beginning of April saw staggering increases in larcenies across campus while February experienced the sharp rise in assaults. Refer to the graph above for a complete breakdown.

Sexual battery has decreased substantially this semester. According to the ODU Crime and Fire Safety Log, the numbers are down completely from 10 cases in Fall 2021 to zero for this semester . Title IX resources for students concerned about sexual battery can be found here. 

Identity theft had a busy day at the end of March. A record high of 11 counts of credit card fraud were recorded in one day, all on March 31. Another big standout is the 11 counts of weapons violations reported over the spring semester. Also, a recent phishing scam targeting DUO mobile has plagued both faculty and students accessing ODU’s internet services.

Thankfully, DUI’s are down by almost half from the previous semester, but motor vehicle crashes have increased simultaneously. ODU does have systems in place to mitigate DUIs, namely the ODU Police Department’s Safe Ride service which provides free rides for Monarchs after dark between 8pm-2am. Rides are available through the TapRide app which can be accessed via the link. Stay safe, Monarchs.