No reported statistics shown for 2023 year on Meramec campus
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Managing Editor
Saint Louis Community College (STLCC) recently published its 2024 Security and Fire Safety Report. This report, published in accordance with the Clery Act of 1990, details the statistics of all crimes and incidents reported that are associated with the college over the previous three years; this year’s report spans from 2021-2023. The 169-page report has crime and incident statistics that cover every single STLCC campus; specific data relating to the Meramec Campus can be found on pages 122-133 of the report.
Notably, there appears to be no reported crimes (of those that are listed) across the board for the 2023 year. This is in contrast to a reported rape in the 2022 year, as well as cases of domestic assault and stalking during the 2021 year.
Professor Ruth Eilerman has worked at the college as a Criminal Justice instructor since 2007. She believes that Meramec is a safe campus, but also says in many of the courses that she teaches that just because there is little crime reported in a given area, it doesn’t mean that there is no crime taking place.
“Most of the crime that we have on the Meramec campus is going to be very, very inconsequential,” Eilerman said. “It’s gonna be low-level property crime. The less serious the crime is, the less likely [that it’ll be] reported to the police. So, if there isn’t any reported crime, that probably just means that crime that we did have was petty larceny and nothing that was considered worthy of police attention.”
When asked why someone may not choose to report a crime, Eilerman said “Because they don’t think anything is gonna be done about it.”
She elaborated further, “That’s not just here, that’s everywhere. The less serious that it is, the less likely I am to think that it’s gonna be resolved. And if it’s not gonna be resolved, I kinda don’t bother or I think I’m partially to blame.”
It’s important to also note that the Clery Report also only focuses on certain crimes. These crimes include homicide, sexual assault, rape, fondling, incest, statutory rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson.
The Clery Act of 1990 as a consumer protection law for students to know what’s happening on college campuses. It was enacted following the murder of Jeanne Clery in April 1986 in Stoughton Hall at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Clery’s parents sued the school and won the suit, and were awarded $2 million. They also later founded a non-profit group known today as “The Clery Center for Security On Campus.”
The full report is available to view and to download on the STLCC website. You can also request a paper copy from STLCC’s Security Department located at the Corporate Campus in Bridgeton, or by calling (314) 539-5199.
