The University of Wisconsin-Madison saw increases in reported hate crimes, stalking and vehicle theft in 2025 with decreases in reported sexual assaults compared to 2024, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department’s (UWPD) latest Annual Security and Fire Safety (ASR) report released Sept. 30.
The 2026 report provides crime statistics from 2025, 2024 and 2023 along with information about crime reporting, campus resources, safety procedures and protocols for sexual, domestic and dating violence. The report is compiled by the UWPD in collaboration with campus offices.
Required under the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, the report includes crime data from the past three years, covering all of campus and any off-campus property owned by student organizations or the university.
One on-campus murder or non-negligent manslaughter was reported in 2025, compared to none in previous years.
There were nine reports of rape in 2025, 21 reports in 2024 and 14 reports in 2023. Most were reported occurring in on-campus student housing.
There were also 10 reports of fondling in 2025, compared to 31 and five reports in 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Stalking reports increased between 2023 and 2025, with 52 reports in 2025 and 42 in 2024.
“Differences in the statistics themselves reflect the number of crimes reported, and not necessarily a difference in the rate of crime itself,” the report said. “The data does not reflect prosecutions, convictions or the outcome of disciplinary actions.”
Property crime also saw an increase in 2025. Reported motor vehicle theft on campus, which includes e-bikes, e-scooters and e-skateboards, rose from 37 cases in 2024 to 49 in 2025.
Of the total of 68 motor vehicle crime reports this year across on-campus and off-campus locations, 47 involved e-bikes, e-scooters or e-skateboards.
Aggravated assault reports increased from 38 in 2024 to 43 in 2025, though they declined on campus. Burglaries increased from 17 to 34 incidents.
The report also recorded hate crimes, which increased drastically from seven to 26 between 2024 and 2025.
The hate crime total included 15 vandalisms motivated by bias against sexual orientation, six intimidations motivated by bias against race, and other events motivated by bias against religion and nation of origin.
The ASR notes the 15 vandalisms occurred between January 2024 and March 2025, and the number is “based on an estimation of occurrences from what was reported.”
2025 saw the lowest number of referrals for liquor law violations in the past three years at 533.
There were also two reports of off-campus hazing in 2025 — the first year the category was included after the Stop Campus Hazing Act was signed into law in December 2024.
