Alcohol and drug referrals at George Mason University jumped in 2010, according to the latest Annual Security Report released by university officials Oct. 1.
Report statistics show 511 liquor laws referrals from the Fairfax campus and student residences combined, compared to 291 in 2009. Drug referrals for the combined Fairfax campus and student residences increased this year to 123 from 65.
Actual arrests for alcohol offenses dropped on the Fairfax campus, while drug arrests rose slightly from 2009.
Referrals for drug and alcohol violations are made to the university’s Office of Judicial Affairs and are handled through the university judicial system. They are not considered criminal or civil proceedings, according to the Judicial Affairs website.
Part of the increase in referrals can be attributed to two incidents last fall, one of which was a police raid on an off-campus house, said Lt. Kevin P. Barrett, Mason University Police coordinator for the ASR. On Sept. 3, 2010, a joint operation by the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and Mason police yielded almost 30 referrals. That same weekend, Mason police made another 12 referrals at a separate off-campus house party.
Additional referrals made by the Office of Housing and Residence Life also contributed to the increase, Barrett said.
“The two reasons why, in my opinion, the numbers for referrals were higher [this year] are because more referrals were made by housing and we had a couple of incidents that occurred off campus, but were referred to Judicial Affairs,” Barrett said.
The ASR also showed an increase in burglaries on both the Fairfax campus and student residencies from eight in 2009 to 34 in 2010. The jump can be attributed to stricter reporting procedures, which would have previously classified some crimes as larcenies but now qualify as burglaries for the latest ASR report, Barrett said.
Most of the crimes that occur on Mason are property crimes, which do not fit the criteria for reporting on the ASR, said Maj. George Ginovsky, assistant chief of police at Mason.
“The overwhelming type of property crime is simple theft,” Ginovsky said. Most of those crimes are thefts of laptops and textbooks left unattended on campus.
To read the complete 2011 Annual Security Report, including crime reports for the Arlington, Prince William and Loudoun campuses, in addition to other university properties, log on to the University Police website at gmu.edu/depts/police/annualsecurity.htm. You can also stop by the police headquarters on University Drive on the Fairfax campus for a hard copy.
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