Drug and sexual crime reports are decreasing after a spike in 2022, according to Brigham Young University-Idaho's Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, released Sept. 24. 

BYUI's Annual Security and Fire Safety Report is released every fall semester in accordance with the Clery Act.

The Clery Act was passed by the federal government in 1990, requiring universities to report all known data of crimes committed on campus, as well as outline safety procedures. 

BYUI submits its Clery report under the title, “Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.” The report is published by the Compliance Office, headed by Chief Compliance Officer Nolan Bybee. 

Bybee has only been Chief Compliance Officer for two years, but he comes from an extensive background in data collection, spending 26 years in healthcare administration before starting at BYUI. 

“There are a lot of regulations and standards in healthcare, but higher education is highly regulated as well,” said Bybee. “I didn’t realize there are so many regulations that the federal government puts on universities.”

One of these regulations is the Clery Act, which Bybee oversees at BYUI.

To gather data, he must communicate with the Honor Code Office, the local police, the county sheriff, the fire department, and police departments wherever BYUI students travel for school, such as internship expeditions, choir trips, and class projects. 

Bybee and his team collect all reports of a crime on the BYUI campus, even if the allegation is unfounded. Crimes include sexual violence, misuse of drugs and alcohol, carrying of a firearm illegally, and, as of January 2025, hazing. 

All the data is for the previous year, so while it may be 2025, the most recent data is from 2024. 

Once the data is collected, a committee combs through it to ensure no cases have been reported twice. After meticulous study, Bybee compiles the data into the annual report. 

“I’d like to think BYU-Idaho is a really safe campus. I feel like it is,” Bybee said. However, BYUI has seen a trend of increasing reports of sexual and drug offenses. The annual report in 2021 saw 11 reported sexual assaults, compared to 2022, which saw 41 sexual assaults. 

While not as dramatic, the illegal use of drugs and liquor increased as well. In 2021, 14 arrests were reported by the local police in connection with violating drug and liquor laws. In 2022, 18 were reported. 

The numbers for arrests for drugs and alcohol may seem low, but BYUI also looks at referrals sent into the Honor Code Office, which show a more staggering number. 2021 had 53 reports of drug use, and 2022 had 58. 

However, the Honor Code Office isn’t checking for legality; they’re looking for violations of BYUI’s Honor Code. Even though each report may be within a student’s legal rights, Bybee still puts each case into the report. 

Despite the concerning upward trend, 2024’s data provide comfort. Sexual assault allegations fell from 32 the previous year to 21. Drug and Liquor law violations have steadily dropped since the high of 2022, with only 6 arrests in 2023 and 5 in 2024. Honor Code reports have also dropped, from 58 in 2022, to 45 in 2023, to 41 in 2024. 

Creating an honest report is a high priority. “The whole purpose of [the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report] is to help give parents and students the opportunity to be able to evaluate, ‘Is this really, truly the school I want to go to?’” Bybee explained. “I think the big thing is students have a right to know what’s going on the campus. They need to be involved.” 

The report ends with all safety protocols for BYUI, including how to report a crime. 

“The sooner we can report potential issues, the sooner we can prevent it from getting to be a big issue where people are arrested or kicked out of school,”  Bybee said.

The 2025 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report can be found on the Compliance Office’s website, where a link to download is provided. The Compliance Office will also give a free printed copy of the report upon request.