Trump said Harvard has seen violent crime skyrocket. Data from campus police says otherwise.

"In June, the White House claimed that crime at Harvard University - including violent crime - has "drastically risen in recent years." The administration said Harvard has become an "unsafe campus environment by permitting anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators to harass and physically assault individuals." But, as the editorial from The Harvard Crimson highlighted, recent data from the Harvard University Police Department shows the opposite."

"The data from police shows that violent crime decreased by more than 50% between 2023 and 2024. While crime overall has risen since 2021, the Harvard Crimson reports that it's mostly due to a rise in thefts of electric scooters. The report shows that, from 2021 to 2022, the overall crime rate spiked from 189 incidents to 301. Police attribute the increase to motor vehicle thefts, a category under which they classify stolen electric scooters."

"Motor vehicle thefts increased from 75 in 2022 to 139 in 2023 and 165 in 2024-half of all crimes reported last year. The report says there were seven reported hate crimes in 2024, down from 10 in 2023. However, five of those were religiously motivated, which is up from two in 2023. The editorial board notes that the small numbers make it hard to attribute the rise to a "substantial" increase in hate crimes."

The White House claimed crime at Harvard, including violent crime, has drastically risen and labeled the campus unsafe due to alleged agitators. Harvard University Police Department data shows violent crime decreased by more than 50% from 2023 to 2024. Overall crime has risen since 2021, but officials attribute most of the increase to motor vehicle thefts, primarily stolen electric scooters. Motor vehicle thefts rose from 75 in 2022 to 139 in 2023 and 165 in 2024, comprising about half of reported incidents in 2024. Reported hate crimes fell to seven in 2024 from 10 in 2023, though religiously motivated incidents rose from two to five; small totals complicate claims of a substantial increase.

Read at Boston.com