Wesley Bowen’s truck was stolen and then recovered in 2015. Theft is the most frequently reported crime at BYU. (Ryan Turner)
BYU student Wesley Bowen pulled his truck into his assigned spot below his apartment complex in 2015. It was a hot summer night, so Bowen locked the doors to his vehicle but left the driver's side window slightly cracked.
Motor vehicle theft is quite high at the University of Utah. BYU has the second-highest motor vehicle theft rate, compared to other universities in Utah. (Shaylee Watkins)
Bowen went downstairs at 6 a.m. to find his truck missing.
'It was just gone,' Bowen said. 'I freaked out. I walked two blocks in every direction to make sure I wasn't crazy and hadn't parked it somewhere else the night before.'
How big is this theft problem?
Theft is the most frequently reported crime at BYU, according to the university's 2016 Clery Act Campus Security Report, yet BYU continues to be one of the safest campuses in the United States.
The Clery Act Campus Security Report is named after Jeanne Clery, who was raped and murdered in her dormitory at Lehigh University in April 1986.
After Clery’s death, her family discovered the crime statistics released by Lehigh University were not reflective of the actual crimes committed and sued the university. The U.S. Department of Education now requires all universities to publish a Clery Act Campus Security Report each year.
General 'theft' can include a wide range of crimes, which is why University Police officer Carlos Acosta said reporting campus theft numbers accurately isn't possible.
'Some of these 'crimes' aren't really that at all,' Acosta said. 'You get people that report a stolen backpack, and then the next day it's turned in at the Wilkinson Student Center Lost and Found.'
Because reporting isn’t always accurate, the Clery Act mandates only specific types of theft are reported, such as burglary or motor vehicle theft, according to University Police officer Terry Fox.
Despite the frequency of theft at BYU compared to other crimes, BYU's crime rates are low when compared to those of other Utah colleges.
Although burglary is one of the highest reported crimes on campus at BYU, its burglary rate is still comparatively low. (Shaylee Watkins)
There were 60 reported on-campus burglaries at the University of Utah in 2015, according to its 2016 Clery Report. Ten on-campus burglaries were reported at Southern Utah University in 2015. Two on-campus burglaries were reported at both UVU and Utah State University in the same year, according to their respective 2016 Clery Reports.
In contrast, BYU had no reported on-campus burglaries in 2015.
A reputation for safety
BYU senior Chris Nielson's bike was stolen over the summer. Nielson had parked his bike inside the parking garage of the Life Sciences Building.
'There are cameras everywhere around the Life Sciences Building, so I thought, 'Eh, I'll be back in a couple hours,'' Nielson said. 'Definitely learned a lesson that way.'
Nielson found his bike a few months later locked to a rack near the David M. Kennedy Center.
The couple called University Police to report it. Nielson proved the bike was his, and he was able to take it home.
Nielson said although his bike was stolen, he still doesn't worry too much about other possessions being stolen.
Business Insider listed BYU as one of the top 25 safest schools in the United States, attributing its safety to the Honor Code standard for BYU students to be 'totally honest' in their dealings with others.
Human nature
One reason the problem persists is students may rationalize such behavior, said Darin Crawford Gates, a BYU philosophy professor.
'We can become quite good at convincing ourselves that what we are doing is not really wrong, is not our fault or is justified by a more important consideration,' Gates said.
BYU philosophy professor David Jensen said he believes human nature leads to theft.
'It is difficult to be a good person,' Jensen said. 'Even people who are committed to living by a moral standard, or an honor code — as with BYU students — we still find ourselves tempted, distracted, overcome by moments of weakness and so forth.'
Jensen also said no code of conduct guarantees behavior.
'(It is not) hypocrisy to advocate a standard and yet fall short of it — that's just part of being human,' Jensen said.