BOULDER — Following a recent trend, the number of arrests for drug and alcohol violations among University of Colorado students declined in 2014, according to newly released crime statistics.
The number of arrests for liquor law violations dropped 46 percent between 2013 and 2014, with the number of arrests for drug law violations declining 52 percent.
Those statistics appear in the university’s 2015 Security and Fire Safety Report, which includes data on offenses committed on and near campus.
The annual report is mandated by the federal Clery Act, which requires colleges and universities to disclose campus safety information.
CU Police Chief Melissa Zak said the decline doesn’t necessarily reflect a change in behavior, but rather a change in enforcement from her department. The number of arrests and disciplinary referrals for alcohol and drug violations at CU have been declining, for the most part, since 2011.
“You have conversations about ‘do certain things need to be criminalized?’ ” she said. “Do we need to criminalize certain behavior if it’s minor criminal behavior? Do we need to send a student through the court process, put their financial aid at risk, put their future admission to graduate school at risk?”
