In a year, UNC-Pembroke jumped from 186th in on-campus drug arrests to fifth in the nation.
Rehabs.com, an online resource for those dealing with drug addiction, conducted the study using 2012 data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education.
The report largely focused on schools where the rates of on-campus arrests increased dramatically compared to a prior study that used data from 2009-11.
But the researchers say that leaps like this might not be a result of increased crime.
“By comparing the two studies, we were left wondering whether more arrests meant better policing, or a larger problem on campus,” said Kacie Rahm, spokeswoman for the research team that compiled the study, in an email.
Administrators at UNC-P attribute the higher arrest rate to better enforcement of the student conduct code.
“(The school’s public safety department officials) feel like they’re being proactive and really enforcing drug violations,” said UNC-P spokeswoman Sandy Briscar. “They’ve made it a point to not look the other way and to really crack down when they do find out about violations.”
Briscar said the aggressive approach to drug violations is helping prevent more serious crime.