SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — Texas State University has significantly under-reported crime numbers for years, according to its newest crime statistics report.

The data released only goes back three years, from 2016 to 2018.

In 2017, the university reported just one rape. Officials said there were actually 17. There was a similar report in 2016 when only seven rape cases were reported. Today, the number of rapes cases jumped to 21.

A snapshot of Texas State University-San Marcos Campus Crime Statistics for 2014, 2015, 2016. (Source: Campus Watch 2017)

Last year, there were 19 rapes, but there’s not old data for 2018 to compare, 2018 consists of new numbers.

Here’s a breakdown of the crime statistics for Texas State University:

Rape

2018: 19 on-campus, 0 off-campus

2017: 15 on-campus, 2 off-campus

2016: 21 on-campus, 0 off-campus

Dating violence

2018: 3 incidents on-campus, 0 off-campus

2017: 11 on-campus, 0 off-campus

2016: 14 on-campus, 0 off-campus

Domestic violence

2018: 5 incidents on-campus, 0 off-campus

2017: 2 incidents on-campus, 0 off-campus

2016: 4 incidents on-campus, 0 off-campus

Stalking

2018: 8 incidents on-campus, 0 off-campus

2017: 6 incidents on-campus, 0 off-campus

2016: 3 incidents on-campus, 0 off-campus

A total of 55 rape cases on-campus and two off-campus between 2016 and 2018.

The updated crime report also lists dating and domestic violence numbers with 39 reports in total during the three-year span, as well as 17 stalking incidents. This is a vast comparison to what had been previously reported.

All public universities are required to track crimes that happen on campus accurately, under the Clery Act. Noticing something was off, the U.S. Department of Education stepped in to help the university.

Sandy Pantlik, a spokesperson for the university says there were three big reasons for the inaccurate reporting.

According to Pantlik, it was in part because of a software malfunction. The school also blames the former university police leadership, saying it wasn’t handling Clery reporting the way it should have been. And, Texas State says there was a lack of communication between the different departments that receive crime reports.

“The reports were coming in,” Panlik said. “The reports were being addressed by the officers, but when they were entered into the system they were not calculated correctly.”

RELATED: Texas State University says it misreported campus crime numbers

The Clery Act requires universities to report campus crime data and warn students of any safety threats. If a school does not meet the statute’s guidelines it can face hefty financial penalties. Pantlik says Texas State has not been advised that it will face any financial penalties, however, the Department of Education will have to decide what happens next.

At present, the university is correcting those mistakes and officials said they’ve made several changes to better track and release crime statistics for both the Round Rock and San Marcos locations.

To rectify the issues, Pantlik says the university has hired a new police chief, replaced its old, malfunctioning reporting software and increased training for those involved in crime reporting. Texas State has also formed a new committee that meets monthly to go over every crime and make sure nothing’s being duplicated or under-reported between departments.

“We’re looking at those numbers,” Pantlik said. “Humans are looking at them, humans are tracking them and visiting across campus with our other departments.”

The university also hired a consultant to make sure numbers are being reported correctly. And, the school is now a member of the national Clery Center, which will review its reports every year, making sure the university is following best practices.

Since making those changes, Texas State has reported its 2018 crime statistics and says those are accurate.



Pantlik says when school officials revisited old crime numbers from 2016 and 2017 with the new system, most of those numbers went up, however, a few actually went down.