Texas State released its 2025 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, which outlines reported crimes for the past three calendar years that occurred on and off the San Marcos and Round Rock campuses, on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
The report is mandated by the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, established by Congress in 1990, which was named after Jeanne Clery, a college freshman who was raped and murdered in her dorm in 1986 at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. Her death sparked a national conversation about unreported campus crimes, leading to formal requirements for crime reporting and campus safety.
“These statistics reflect reported crimes on and near campus, not necessarily crimes investigated by University Police. The number of crimes investigated by TXST University Police in 2024 fell by 38% in 2024 compared to 2023, even as enrollment grew,” the university wrote in a press release email to The Star.
The Annual Security & Fire Safety Report is split into four categories: primary crimes, arrests and referrals, hate crimes and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) offenses. Reported crimes are counted based on a hierarchical rule, where if multiple crimes are reported for the same incident, only the most serious offense goes on the Safety Report, with some exceptions such as VAWA offenses.
According to the report, the number of rapes reported in 2024 was 29, the same as the year before. The university said that while the number remained the same, there were 12 rapes reported in the 2024 calendar year, that actually occurred in 2021.
“The additions of these late reports impact 2024 data,” Texas State wrote on its website. “For example, in 2024, not including the late reporting, there was a substantial decline in newly reported rape cases.”
Additionally, 21 of the 86 domestic violence incidents reported were from 2021 and nine of the 29 fondling incidents were also from 2021. Still, domestic violence incidents reported in 2024 show a 12% increase from 2023, or a 66.7% increase when not counting the incidents from 2021.
The report showed a large decrease in liquor law violations reported for disciplinary actions, with just 86 being reported in 2024 versus 324 in 2023, a roughly 73% decrease. Texas State Vice President of Marketing and Communications Sandra Pantlik said how liquor and drug violations are counted on the safety report was changed after the university received legal advice on Clery compliance.
“A sharp decline in referrals between 2023 and 2024 reflects updated alignment with state law definitions of ‘possession,’ not necessarily a change in behavior or enforcement,” The university wrote.
The number of motor vehicle thefts reported also saw a sharp rise. The number more than doubled from 11 in 2023 to 24 in 2024. Burglaries also more than doubled with 20 in 2023 compared to 43 in 2024.
Dating violence reports fell 66.7% from nine in 2023 to just three in 2024.
Reported hate crimes on campus also increased from four in 2023 to six in 2024.
“As the sixth largest university in Texas, TXST reported 3.09 investigated crimes per 10,000 students,” the university wrote in its press release. “This was lower than each of the five largest state universities, which ranged from 3.63 to 15.01 crimes investigated per 10,000 students. (Source: National Incident-Based Reporting System).”
The U.S. Department of Education investigated Texas State for failing to not properly report Clery crime in 2016 and 2017. In response, the university implemented changes in 2019 by introducing the eFORCE system and hiring staff to monitor Clery Act numbers daily.
In previous years, Texas State has released revised Annual Security and Safety Reports about a month after the original, such as in 2024. Pantlik said that while a revision is possible this year, it is unlikely as the Department of Education does not have any pending questions about this year’s report.
