By Sarah Kinney
Staff Writer

Liquor law violations referred for disciplinary actions increased to 52 incidents in 2012, up from 14 the year before, according to the 2012 Simmons College Clery Report. No arrests were made from those cases.

“Even though last year’s numbers were up, on a percentage basis relative to other campuses our numbers have been historically quite low,” said Simmons College Chief of Police Sean Collins. “A very small percentage of our students are ever found in violation of the liquor laws/campus rules and referred for disciplinary action.”

In comparison, Emmanuel College, which has about 200 more undergraduates than Simmons, reported 70 alcohol related violations in 2010, 129 in 2011, and 55 in 2012. Wheelock College has about half as many students but had 57 liquor law violations in 2010, 43 violations in 2011, and 30 violations in 2012.

“One of our responsibilities in Public Safety is to educate the professional staff in how to record alcohol violations,” said Collins. “I believe this training, along with several large gatherings, contributed to the increase in the number of reported cases for 2012.”

Liquor law violations as classified in the Clery Report cover a range of alcohol related issues. They are defined as “the violation of laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, transporting, furnishing, possessing of intoxicating liquor; maintaining unlawful drinking places; bootlegging; operating a still; furnishing liquor to a minor or intemperate person; using a vehicle for illegal transportation of liquor; drinking on a train or public conveyance; and all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned. (Drunkenness and driving under the influence are not included in this definition.)”

“There can be serious consequences for liquor law violations, particularly concerning underage drinking,” said Collins.

“In addition, students should not assume that because no recent cases have been referred for criminal prosecution that none will be in the future.  Actions taken in each incident are based on our best evaluation of the specifics of the incident. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts can impose fines and driver’s license suspensions as well as criminal sanctions in some alcohol-related cases…Infractions that are serious enough can lead to arrest and possible suspension/expulsion from college.”

Collins wanted to remind students that that it is illegal to consume alcohol under the age of 21. Those students who can legally drink are reminded that providing alcohol to someone who is underage is a serious criminal offense and could lead to prosecution, so if you can legally drink, do so responsibly.

Official regulations pertaining to the use of alcohol at Simmons can be found in the Student Handbook available online at www.simmons.edu/handbook/.

Other increases in the Clery Report were burglaries with 16 incidents in 2012 compared to eight in 2010 and 11 in 2011, and drug law arrests referred for disciplinary actions were up to 10 in 2012 from seven in both 2010 and 2011.

Though not on campus properties, there were two cases of robbery of public property in 2012, compared to none in 2011 and one in 2010.

There was one case of aggravated assault on campus, while there were zero cases in 2011 and 2010.

Despite these five cases of, usually slight, increases, the majority of the report shows overall low crime rates.

Instances of rape or sexual assaults occurring on the Simmons campuses are both down, though historically cases have been low.

Hate crimes dropped from three incidents in 2010, two incidents in 2011, to none reported for 2012 combining all classifications.

To view the complete Clery Report you can visit the Public Safety page on the Simmons College website.

“The Clery Act is designed to allow students and parents to identify safety concerns on campuses,” explained Collins.