HPU The Crime Experience
By Kate Ryan, Q News
High Point University’s campus goes through multiple procedures and takes on multiple efforts to keep students safe.
Chief Director of Campus Police Debra Duncan and the rest of HPU security work hard to respond, prepare, and handle any situation that could occur on HPU’s campus.
How Often Crime Occurs on High Point’s Campus
HPU's statistics vary from rape, aggravated assault, and burglary. According to the Students Right to Know report 2023, on-campus rapes stayed the same from 2021 to 2022 at a number of 18. However residential facility rapes increased by 4 from 2021 to 2022, with 14 in 2021 and 18 in 2022.
According to the same source, aggravated assaults increased by one in 2021 and 2022 with 3 in 2021 and 4 in 2022. According to that same report in 2022, 6 people were robbed on campus, and 6 in residential facilities.
Chief Director Of Campus on HPU’s Security System
Interview With Chief Of Security
Chief director of HPU's campus Debra Duncan, holds high value to the process of HPU’s security system. According to Duncan, the first step in reporting a crime is making a phone call to campus security, so they can file a report and handle matters accordingly. According to Duncan, “If it’s something that we can’t solve right away, we’ll send it to our detectives.”
Once the person or student is identified they will send them to the student conduct, where a school trial occurs. According to Duncan “if they are found guilty they sanction them.” For a different type of crime for example assault, HPU has its own police department to handle the issue.
According to Duncan “If it’s not High Point owned, or leased High Point police not a part of High Point University handles the issue.”
High Point Chief Of Security Debra Duncan- photo by https://www.highpoint.edu/media/home/HPU-News-4.png
HPU Experiences A Break-In
High Point University Student Ashlyn Long experienced a potential break into her home firsthand. Long is a Junior at High Point this year, and she lives in off-campus housing. She and her former roommate were tanning on their back porch when a car circled her place.
“He stopped 3 houses in front of our house, then we looked at each other and she said if he turns around were running inside,” Long explained. “Then he turned on our street, we called security and he took pictures of our backyard.”
The next day, around 2 a.m., a strange man came up to their door looking to get into their place. Luckily, her place contained cameras.
According to Long, this break-in made her feel “really scared just because when we watched the video it didn’t seem real.”
She found out about this man caught on camera around 3 a.m.
According to Long “If he didn’t notice the camera he definitely would have tried harder, like break a window or something.”
HPU Freshman Experiences Assault
An incoming freshman, who would not like to be named experienced an assault from another student. This survivor had mutual friends with the accused.
According to the survivor of the assault “The second time I hung out with him he took advantage of me, and didn’t take no for an answer.”
Out of fear, the survivor didn’t report the assault until two months later. The survivor reported this situation as a Title 9, and the accused then transferred schools.
HPU Procedure For Safety Of Off-Campus Students
HPU holds high standards to protect students. Off-campus procedures pertain to a security officer being stationed in the area where off-campus students live. According to High Point University's chief of security Debra Duncan, “Every one of the houses is equipped with an alarm system.”
The issue is that students don’t set them up or use them. “If somebody comes to your house and shakes the door the alarm will go off.”
Security also uses blue light poles that have cameras in them in case of an emergency. According to Duncan, “every block has a camera.”
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