KU says jump in drug offenses reflects better reporting

LAWRENCE – The University of Kansas is reporting a large increase in drug offenses in the last year but police contend it is caused by better drug education and enforcement, rather than more drug use on campus.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that annual crime statistics released Wednesday showed 177 drug offenses reported on campus in 2014, compared to 107 in 2013. The crime statistics only include offenses reported to university police.

Overall, 832 crimes were reported on campus in 2014, which is a 23 percent increase from 2013.

University police Capt. James Anguiano says police are training student housing employees to recognize illegal activity and identify drugs.

He says obtaining more search warrants also contributed to the higher numbers.

“The policy is you can’t smoke anything in the residence halls,” he said. “So when RAs, the complex director or even other residents smell an odor coming from a room, that leads to an investigation.”

Anguiano says most of the drug offenses involved small quantities of marijuana or paraphernalia in residence halls, but there were also cases of large quantities suspected of being sold to others. Anguiano also says police have noticed more alternatives forms of drugs like edibles, waxes and oils.

“The drug world’s always an evolving world,” Anguiano said.

The statistics showed 832 crimes were reported on campus in 2014, a 26 percent increase from 661 crimes in 2013.

This story was originally published April 23, 2015 at 10:29 AM with the headline "KU says jump in drug offenses reflects better reporting."