A fire alarm. A car break-in. A case of sexual assault. Campus safety can become real in an instant for college students.
The University of Miami reported changes in several categories of crime and disciplinary referrals from 2023 to 2025, according to its 2026 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report released on Oct. 1.
The report, which covers the 2026-27 academic year, includes Clery Act statistics collected from the University of Miami Police Department, local law enforcement agencies and campus security authorities.
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, originally known as the Campus Security Act, requires universities to make information about crime on campus public.
At the Coral Gables campus, there were six reports of rape in 2023, seven in 2024 and four in 2025. Of the incidents reported in 2025, three of them occurred in on-campus student housing and one off-campus.
Fondling reports are the lowest they have been in the reported period, with one recorded incident in 2025 compared to three in 2023 and five in 2024.
In 2025, one case of domestic violence one case of stalking were reported.
“We live in a scary time, but I do appreciate UM’s safety on campus because they have a lot of security and police officers that are always patrolling,” said sophomore Cristian Hacker. “I think it is also helpful that we have a system in place where if you feel unsafe walking home from the library or classes or anything like that, you can call someone and they will escort you back, no questions asked.”
Other serious offenses, including murder, manslaughter, robbery and arson remained at zero across the three-year timespan.
In contrast, the report showed a rise in disciplinary referrals.
Liquor-law referrals increased from 2023 to 2024, reaching 132 reported incidents in 2025. Drug-abuse referrals did not follow as clear of a pattern, with 60, 43 and 56 incidents throughout the period, respectively.
For the first time, the report also included a hazing statistic under the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act. UM recorded one hazing incident on non-campus property in 2025.
The Stop Campus Hazing Act is an update to the Clery Act, and it requires standardized reporting and transparency regarding hazing incidents.
“I view Greek life, which is where the most hazing is seen, to be outdated and these cases prove my point,” said Hacker. “I just don’t feel there should be this hierarchical balance of power.”
Notably, there were two reports of “Simple Assault hate crimes based on Ethnicity Bias” filed in 2025 compared to zero cases in the previous two years.
“While I know it doesn’t specify what the hate crimes were and to what ethnic group, personally I feel like last year UM dealt with so many issues regarding anti-senitism and people on opposing sides of either pro-Isreal or pro-Palestian” said a junior who wished to remain unnamed. The junior then referenced the student influencer who started an argument with Students Supporting Israel club.
Motor vehicle theft totaled 27 reports in 2023, 18 in 2024 and 22 in 2025 at the Coral Gables campus.
Burglary reports on campus decreased over the last three years. In 2023 there were six incidents, but in 2024 there were four and 2025 the number decreased to three.
Three fire incidents in student housing were recorded in 2024 and two in 2025. The 2024 fires happened at Lakeside Village and Mahoney Residential, while the 2025 fires were in Centennial Village and University Village Building 3. Neither event caused any deaths or injuries.
All reported incidents — including drug and alcohol disciplinary referrals — reached the highest across all three campuses in 2025. In 2023, the total reports were 230, 197 in 2024 and 238 in 2025. The Marine Campus consistently had the lowest number of all reports.
UM’s report comes as college campus safety faces national attention following the reopening of a sexual assault case allegedly involving members of a Cornell University fraternity. The case has fueled discussion about how universities respond to reports of sexual violence.
Cornell’s 2026 security report, released in September, shows an increase in reported stalking incidents but a decrease in reported on-campus rape and dating violence.
It is important to note that UM’s report only reflects incidents that fall under the Clery Act’s definitions and geographic boundaries.
At UM, the report includes prevention and awareness efforts addressing misconduct, including consent, bystander intervention, reporting procedures and available victim resources.
The Hurricane reached out to the University for comment but did not receive a response.
While the annual report provides a look at reported crime at UM, the statistics don’t necessarily represent every incident experienced by students.
Still, the report offers students a look at how reported safety concerns on and around campus have changed.