The 2012 annual safety and security report and fire safety report was released by NIU Monday.

NIU Police Sgt. Alan Smith said the safety and security report makes it possible for people to make an informed decision on whether they want to visit NIU. The report also allows people who live at NIU to feel safe knowing crime is being reported accurately, he said.

“We’re helping to reduce the opportunity of crime,” Smith said.

The safety and security report was released in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. The Clery Act requires all post-secondary institutions participating in federal student aid programs or receiving federal financial assistance to report campus crime to all students and employees. The report must be made available by Oct. 1 each year.

Austin Quick, Student Association Senate speaker, said the information in the report did not surprise him because he knew the campus was safe. He said he was curious why the category of murder and non-negligent manslaughter in the report showed zero for the past three years when students Antinette “Toni” Keller and Steven Agee II were both murdered near campus within the past two years.

Smith said both of those murders counted for DeKalb’s crime statistics but not for the safety and security report controlled by a student organization recognized by an institution and weren’t in public property adjacent to the campus.

Quick said the real problems occur in the areas outside of campus where students live, like Greek Row and the Knolls.

“The numbers do not speak the truth for what is really happening for our students in the communities surrounding the campus,” Quick said.

According to the 2012 safety and security report, the number of burglaries increased in residence facilities for 2011. Smith said the NIU police force is working on educating students to lock their doors in the residence halls.

Printed copies of the safety and security report are available at the NIU Police Department, said Steve Cunningham, vice president of administration and human resources, in an email. Printed copies of the fire report are available at the Environmental Health and Safety Department. The reports can be accessed online at www.safety.niu.edu/clery.