Univ. of Florida Quietly Removes Crime Data From Website

The University of Florida quietly took off-line nearly eight years of crime data, leaving only information about crimes committed on or near campus in the past 60 days, WUFT reported Tuesday.

The move is legal under the Clery Act, which holds that colleges and universities must keep a publicly accessible log of the last 60 days’ worth of crime data; if older data are requested, they must be made available within two days.

Though it wasn’t required to, UF kept historical data available on its website for years, giving students, faculty, staff and prospective families valuable details about safety on and around campus, WUFT reported. According to a statement from the university, the old data were removed “to ensure the information displayed is accurate and current.”

WUFT pointed out that the move comes after a year in which the university reported its highest number of rapes and sexual battery cases, as well as increased incidents of burglary, dating violence, domestic violence, grand theft, harassing communications, stalking and trespassing.

Responding to what they described as a lack of transparency by administrators, two UF journalism students recently launched a website that provides access to the historic crime data—as well as current details—that the university removed.