Harvard University denies increase in campus violence

Photo of Zhanhui Li in Unsplash

Harvard University has strongly rejected President Donald Trump's claims of a dramatic spike in violent crime on its campus, arguing that official data proves otherwise.

According to the Harvard University Police Department's (HUPD) annual security report, violent crimes on campus fell by 52% between 2023 and 2024. Aggravated acts of violence decreased from 58 in 2023 to 33 in 2024. Reported robberies also fell from 28 to just 6 during that same period.

Regarding hate crimes, total cases decreased from 10 in 2023 to 7 in 2024. Although religiously motivated incidents increased slightly, from 2 to 5, the university maintains that those numbers are still very low in absolute terms.

The article “What's Actually Up With Crime at Harvard University” by Axios It also puts into perspective the high percentage figures Trump cited. Experts caution that percentages can be misinterpreted when the baseline figures are small, and note that on a campus of approximately 45,000 people, the reported increases are still low in actual numbers.

Harvard has requested corrections, stating that some of the presidential statements contain factual errors and that the university has been cooperating with federal agencies to improve student safety and well-being.

Why did the talk of violence at Harvard arise?

Tensions between the Trump administration and Harvard have escalated not only over security issues but also over accusations of antisemitism on campus. In the wake of protests following events in the Middle East, the administration alleged that Harvard was failing to adequately protect Jewish and Israeli students. Harvard, for its part, has responded with reports, data, and (it claims) frequent internal efforts to address the problem.

The debate between percentages and absolute numbers has become crucial. What may sound alarming to some media outlets or presidential speeches (for example, "195% increase in aggravated assaults," "460% increase in robberies") is tempered when one observes that these increases are starting from low baselines.

Implications

The accusations have political and legal repercussions: the government has threatened Harvard with financial sanctions, cuts to federal funding, and even revoking its ability to enroll foreign students if it fails to comply with certain reporting and oversight requirements.

Harvard, for its part, has demanded that its constitutional and legal guarantees be respected, and warns that any measure must be based on objective data and the rights to academic freedom and freedom of expression.

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Sources:

• The Harvard Crimson
• Harvard Magazine