Safety First, Because Accidents Last
Nels Christensen
Fort Lewis College released its Annual Security and Fire Safety Report on September 23 with an updated version distributed to students’ emails on October 2.
This 63-page report includes important information on FLC’s policies regarding safety measures and resources available to students. Crime statistics from 2022 to 2024 provided by the Fort Lewis College Police Department are included. This is required of universities that receive federal funding as part of consumer protection protocols established through the Clery Act of 1990.
Referrals for liquor and drug law violations make up the bulk of these statistics, followed by domestic/dating violence and sexual assault. Resources to support students experiencing physical or sexual violence are available on the Title IX page of Fort Lewis’s website.
(Source: The Independent’s analysis of data provided by the Fort Lewis Division of Student Engagement’s Annual Security & Fire Safety Report 2025)
Total crimes and violations were the lowest in 2024, with 68% of 124 total occurrences happening in residential halls on campus. The police department issued one referral for illegal weapons possession on campus in a residential hall.
(Source: The Independent’s analysis of data provided by the Fort Lewis Division of Student Engagement’s Annual Security & Fire Safety Report 2025)
The police department reported the highest number of total crimes or violations in 2023, totaling 219. Of those, 174, or 79%, occurred on campus in residential halls.
There was one instance of arson in 2023, as well as one bias-motivated criminal offense of race-based vandalism on campus.
In the academic year of 2022, there were 204 total crimes and violations that occurred at Fort Lewis. Of these instances, 93% happened in residential halls on campus.
(Source: The Independent’s analysis of data provided by the Fort Lewis Division of Student Engagement’s Annual Security & Fire Safety Report 2025)