On Oct. 21 an email was sent to the Bakersfield College community regarding an indecent exposure incident. After this incident, students may be questioning the safety of the BC campus. BC has released an Annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report that suggests there has been a drop in crimes on campus.

The report is available to all members of the BC community via BC’s website. It details safety precautions the community should take and outlines how to report crimes on campus. The report also offers statistics relating to crimes occurring on the BC campus.

Some of the selected statistics include crimes related to sexual offense, motor vehicle theft and burglary. These crimes have taken place at BC’s main campus, the Weill Institute and the Delano Center. Other statistics include crimes that have taken place on public property associated with BC, such as Stockdale High School.

The report shows that there were no crimes reported relating to manslaughter, arson and sexual offense “non force.” While other crimes are reported on campus, statistics show that these crimes, specifically sexual offense “force,” robbery and aggravated assault are reported at very low rates, usually only once during the school year.

In the past, BC has been known for issues relating to car theft. The statistics show that while motor vehicle theft still occurs, the frequency has gone down. In 2013, only seven motor vehicle thefts were reported compared to 2011, which reported 17.

Another notable section of statistics released in the report deals with students and disciplinary actions. The three categories for specific disciplinary actions are drugs/narcotics, weapons and alcohol. The category that saw the most disciplinary action was drugs/narcotics, with four referrals reported in 2013 compared to nine referrals in 2011.

Although some numbers do exist regarding certain crimes that have occurred on campus, it’s important to note how small the numbers are. Seventeen was the largest number of crimes reported and that number was from 2011. Since then, crime reports have gone down in frequency.

A simple guideline to remember when handling crimes occurring on campus is: “If you see something, say something.” The report notes that the statistics provided are of when those crimes were reported and not necessarily when the crime occurred. Some crimes may occur on campus, but are not reported to the Department of Public Safety.

Chris Counts, the director for the department of public safety, was unavailable for further comment regarding crimes and crime safety on campus.