The “Ramapo College Annual Security & Fire Safety Report” for 2023 was released through email on Sept. 30 to the Ramapo community. The safety report includes information on campus safety and security, fire safety, and campus strategies to prevent incidents of sexual misconduct.
The introduction to the annual report states that it is produced in compliance with the Clery Act, Section 485(f), the Higher Education Act of 1965 and the Violence Against Women Act.
The Clery act comes from The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. This act requires public and private higher education institutes to publish a Security and Fire Safety report annually that discloses campus crime statistics, according to the “Ramapo College Annual Security & Fire Safety Report.”
The report contains campus statistics from 2021, 2022 and 2023, featuring crimes reported on campus, in on-campus student housing and buildings or property controlled by Ramapo College.
Ramapo’s Department of Public Safety and the campus fire marshal compile the information in the report based on information provided by local law enforcement, Campus Security authorities, and information that was directly reported to Ramapo College of New Jersey Department of Public Safety.
The 2023 report documents one account of rape, which is down from the four reported in 2022. There was one instance of fondling, one instance of aggravated assault and one instance of arson.
Additionally, there was one on-campus arrest for weapon possession. An instance of motor vehicle theft where a golf cart was stolen on campus and later recovered was also reported in 2023.
The safety report notes that there were 20 drug abuse violations and 28 liquor law violations on campus in 2023. This is down from the 2022 safety report that documented 36 drug abuse violations and 92 liquor law violations.
Both of the 2022 and 2023 reports specified that there were no reported hate crimes or Clery crimes.
In the fire safety section of the report, there were five incidents logged in 2023, which is up from 2022 where none were logged. Two of the incidents that took place in the Village were cooking related. The fire log reports that the incidents were caused by “overcooked food in the microwave.”
One fire that took place on June 17, 2023 at 12:33 a.m. in the Village was caused by an electrical issue where an exhaust fan failed in an elevator machine room in building 15. There was another electrical fire that occurred in the Overlook on Oct. 17, 2023 at 1:11 a.m. that was attributed to a space heater that sparked a flame in the outlet it was plugged into.
On June 25, 2023 there was an intentional fire set in the College Park Apartments that was started by using an electric stove to set a toilet paper roll ablaze.
The report is accessible on Ramapo’s website. Due to the Clery Act the college is required to keep a crime log that details campus incidents for the past 60 days. This log is available to view anytime in the Public Safety office and additional information can be requested through Public Safety at 201-684-6666.
jhammer@ramapo.edu
Featured photo by Kimberly Ventresca
