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2019 University of Colorado Boulder Crime & Safety Report

Is CU - Boulder safe? On this page, we'll examine crime statistics for the college campus and surrounding areas.

What you'll find in our crime and safety report on CU - Boulder:

Understanding the Crime Stats for CU - Boulder

Types of Crime & Safety Incidents

We have compiled this information on crime statistics from the U.S. Department of Education's Campus Safety and Security data. The types of crimes are divided into the following categories: arrests for major crimes, arrests for possession, violence against women, and disciplinary actions.

The arrests for major crimes category includes arrests for things such as murder, robbery, rape, aggravated assault, and arson. The violence against women grouping includes things such as domestic violence, date rape, and stalking. The arrests for possession classification deals with things such as weapons possession, alcohol violations, and drug violations. The disciplinary actions category involves possession of weapons, alcohol violations, and drug violations in the cases where no arrest occurred but some action was taken.

Number of Incidents

Many colleges and universities report zero incidents in some or all of these categories. In fact, 56% of the schools we cover reported no arrests for major crimes, 67% reported no violence against women, 70% reported no arrests for possession, and 68% reported no disciplinary actions.

While zero reported crimes may seem like a good sign, it does not necessarily indicate that the school has been safer. It may just be that the school doesn't have as strict reporting as others. Similarly, a high number of incidents could indicate that the school is more strict about reporting and law enforcement than other institutions.

CU - Boulder Overall Crime Stats

3,550 Total Number of Incidents
93.71 Incidents per 1000 Students
University of Colorado Boulder reported 3,550 safety-related incidents involving students on or near campus or at other properties affiliated with the school in 2019. That works out to 93.71 incidents per 1,000 students, considering that the student body population is 37,883.

Below, you can see the number of incidents by category as well as the maximum number of incidents reported by any school for comparison's purposes.

CategoryNumber of IncidentsMax Number of Incidents (at any school)Number of Incidents per 1,000 studentsMax Number of Incidents per 1000 students (at any school)
Arrests for Major Crimes781,6702.064,000.00
Arrests for Possession84488022.281,352.94
Violence Against Women313340.821,000.00
Disciplinary Actions2,5972,67068.554,574.85

CU - Boulder Overall Crime by Category

The percentage breakdown of CU - Boulder crime and safety incidents by category is shown in the following chart.

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Disciplinary actions account for 73.2% of all crime and safety incidents at the school. Around 23.8% of the crime and safety-related incidents at University of Colorado Boulder resulted in arrests for possession. About 2.2% of incidents were arrests for major crimes. Acts of violence against women accounted for 0.9% of incidents.

Comparison to Other Schools in the Nation

The charts below show how CU - Boulder compares to other colleges and universities in the nation when it comes to each category of crime and safety-related incidents. Note that this does not take school size into account so larger schools are likely to have more incidents.

Arrests for Possession  (Incidents)
fewer
more
Arrests for Major Crimes  (Incidents)
fewer
more
Violence Against Women  (Incidents)
fewer
more
Disciplinary Actions  (Incidents)
fewer
more

We can factor in the size of the school and look at the incidents per thousand students as well.

Arrests for Possession  (Incidents per 1000 Students)
fewer
more
Arrests for Major Crimes  (Incidents per 1000 Students)
fewer
more
Violence Against Women  (Incidents per 1000 Students)
fewer
more
Disciplinary Actions  (Incidents per 1000 Students)
fewer
more

CU - Boulder Overall Crime by Location

The percentage breakdown of CU - Boulder crime and safety incidents by location is shown in the following chart.

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CU - Boulder On-Campus Crime Stats

3,454 Total Number of Incidents
91.18 Incidents per 1000 Students
In 2019, University of Colorado Boulder reported 3,454 incidents related to crime and safety that involved students on campus. Since the number of students at the school that year was 37,883, that's 91.18 incidents per 1,000 students.

Below, you can see the number of incidents by category as well as the maximum number of incidents reported by any school for comparison's purposes.

CategoryNumber of IncidentsMax Number of Incidents (at any school)Number of Incidents per 1,000 studentsMax Number of Incidents per 1000 students (at any school)
Arrests for Major Crimes691,5851.824,000.00
Arrests for Possession81381321.46888.89
Violence Against Women203310.531,000.00
Disciplinary Actions2,5522,64567.374,544.91

CU - Boulder On-Campus Crime by Category

The percentage breakdown of CU - Boulder on-campus crime and safety incidents by category is shown in the following chart.

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CU - Boulder Affiliated Off-Campus Crime Stats

4 Total Number of Incidents
0.11 Incidents per 1000 Students
In 2019, University of Colorado Boulder reported 4 incidents related to crime and safety that involved students on affiliated off-campus properties. Since the number of students at the school that year was 37,883, that's 0.11 incidents per 1,000 students.

Below, you can see the number of incidents by category as well as the maximum number of incidents reported by any school for comparison's purposes.

CategoryNumber of IncidentsMax Number of Incidents (at any school)Number of Incidents per 1,000 studentsMax Number of Incidents per 1000 students (at any school)
Arrests for Major Crimes11640.03333.33
Arrests for Possession0640.00111.11
Violence Against Women01000.00194.44
Disciplinary Actions31440.08305.56

CU - Boulder Affiliated Off-Campus Crime by Category

The chart below shows what percentage of CU - Boulder crime and safety incidents on affiliated off-campus properties are in each category.

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CU - Boulder Residence Hall Crime Stats

3,262 Total Number of Incidents
86.11 Incidents per 1000 Students
In 2019, University of Colorado Boulder reported 3,262 incidents related to crime and safety that involved students in residence halls. These counts are also included in the on-campus crimes category. That works out to 86.11 incidents per 1,000 students, considering that the student body population is 37,883.

Below, you can see the number of incidents by category as well as the maximum number of incidents reported by any school for comparison's purposes.

CategoryNumber of IncidentsMax Number of Incidents (at any school)Number of Incidents per 1,000 studentsMax Number of Incidents per 1000 students (at any school)
Arrests for Major Crimes311670.82101.80
Arrests for Possession71571518.87180.35
Violence Against Women91400.2453.89
Disciplinary Actions2,5072,50766.184,029.94

CU - Boulder Residence Hall Crime by Category

The percentage breakdown of CU - Boulder crime and safety incidents by category in residence halls is shown in the following chart.

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92 Total Number of Incidents
2.43 Incidents per 1000 Students
University of Colorado Boulder reported 92 safety-related incidents involving students on public property in the Boulder neighborhood around the campus in 2019. Since the number of students at the school that year was 37,883, that's 2.43 incidents per 1,000 students.

Below, you can see the number of incidents by category as well as the maximum number of incidents reported by any school for comparison's purposes.

CategoryNumber of IncidentsMax Number of Incidents (at any school)Number of Incidents per 1,000 studentsMax Number of Incidents per 1000 students (at any school)
Arrests for Major Crimes8670.21666.67
Arrests for Possession312450.821,294.12
Violence Against Women11240.29555.56
Disciplinary Actions421371.11137.93

The chart below shows what percentage of CU - Boulder student-related crime and safety incidents in the Boulder neighborhood surrounding the campus are in each category.

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References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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