Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Trump said Harvard has seen violent crime skyrocket. Data from campus police says otherwise.
The Harvard Crimson editorial board slammed the Trump administration's claim that crime has risen on campus, citing university police data showing that most crimes on campus have declined.
The editorial board of Harvard’s student newspaper blasted the Trump administration’s claim that crime at the university has “drastically risen,” pointing to campus police data showing that crime reports have dropped over the past year.
In June, the White House claimed that crime at Harvard University — including violent crime — has “drastically risen in recent years.”
The administration said Harvard has become an “unsafe campus environment by permitting anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators to harass and physically assault individuals.”
But, as the editorial from The Harvard Crimson highlighted, recent data from the Harvard University Police Department shows the opposite.
The data from police shows that violent crime decreased by more than 50% between 2023 and 2024. While crime overall has risen since 2021, the Harvard Crimson reports that it’s mostly due to a rise in thefts of electric scooters.
Advertisement:
The report shows that, from 2021 to 2022, the overall crime rate spiked from 189 incidents to 301. Police attribute the increase to motor vehicle thefts, a category under which they classify stolen electric scooters.
Motor vehicle thefts increased from 75 in 2022 to 139 in 2023 and 165 in 2024—half of all crimes reported last year.
The report says there were seven reported hate crimes in 2024, down from 10 in 2023. However, five of those were religiously motivated, which is up from two in 2023.
The editorial board notes that the small numbers make it hard to attribute the rise to a “substantial” increase in hate crimes.
Advertisement:
“No matter what the media and the White House may say, Harvard has not descended into a bastion of terror-sympathizers or violent mobs. And don’t just take our word for it – every day, hundreds of tourists fearlessly walk through the Yard without incident,” the editorial board wrote.
The Harvard University Police forwarded additional questions from Boston.com to the Harvard media relations team, which did not respond.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com