College is a time for freedom and personal growth for many, but some students run into altercations with the law that could potentially impact the rest of their lives. Criminal convictions can derail their education, make it harder to get a job and lead to fines and jail time that set them back tremendously from the path they were on. That’s why it’s so important for anyone facing allegations to know exactly what legal options he or she has.
Below are some of the most common criminal accusations that college students face:
- Burglary. One study found that this was the single most common complaint on college campuses.
- Motor vehicle theft. This doesn’t happen as often as simple theft, but it was still the second most common issue in most years from 2001-2014.
- Aggravated assault. This led to 2,100 reports in the study.
- Robberies. These cases involved instances where someone was involved in a face-to-face altercation, whereas burglaries often happened without the person’s knowledge until it was later discovered. Either way, accusations of some type of theft are very common on college campuses.
To really get a picture of how often these things occur, these four crimes were factored out per every 10,000 full-time students. The totals were as follows:
- Burglaries: 9.0
- Motor vehicle theft: 1.9
- Aggravated assault: 1.4
- Robberies: .7
Since these accusations happen so often, it is very important for students who are facing allegations to know all of their legal options. The results of the case can have a drastic impact on a young person’s future, and everyone has a right to a fair trial.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, “College crime,” accessed March 08, 2018
