The Police and Safety Headquarters sign outside of the George Mason University Police Department. (Rithvik Hari / Fourth Estate)

Report indicates rise in motor vehicle thefts on the Fairfax Campus

BY RITHVIK HARI, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

George Mason University’s Police Department released its annual security report on Sept. 18 highlighting crime statistics, safety programs and emergency procedures across the university’s five campuses from 2023 to 2025, as required under the Clery Act. 

The 2026 security report indicates that the number of motor vehicle thefts on the Fairfax Campus has doubled, increasing from 15 in 2024 to 30 in 2025. According to the report, all of the motor vehicle thefts for 2025 involved an electric or motorized vehicle such as an e-scooter, e-skateboard or golf cart, which are classified as motor vehicles by the federal government. 

“Prior to e-bikes, the only vehicle thefts we saw were golf carts,” said Eric Fowler, chief of staff to Mason Police, in an interview with the Fourth Estate. 

Fowler added that in the past five years, the department has seen roughly one theft of an actual car or truck, underscoring how much the e-scooter and e-bike boom has driven the numbers up. Fowler also noted that even a low-cost e-bike purchased online counts as a motor vehicle theft under federal reporting guidelines, meaning the statistic captures a wide range of incidents regardless of the item’s value. 

Mason PD’s tactical vehicle parked outside of the Mason PD Police Station. (Rithvik Hari / Fourth Estate)

Other figures for the Fairfax campus moved in the opposite direction. Reports of rape dropped from eight in 2024 to five in 2025 with three of the incidents occuring in on-campus student housing. Reports of stalking dropped from 57 to 43 during that same time period. 

“Keep an eye out for each other. We are basically a small city,” Fowler said.

Fowler cautioned against reading too much into the decline. 

“A lot of these reports are not actually reported to the police. They are often reported to mandatory reporters,” he said, adding that sexual violence remains significantly underreported nationally.

Fowler attributed part of the shift to ongoing outreach with campus partners and educational messaging, while noting the fondling numbers in particular “fluctuate” year to year, with 2024 seeing far more reports than 2025.

Fowler noted that educational events held in partnership with the Student Support and Advocacy Center and other campus partners have helped bring awareness to sexual violence. 

In 2025, the report also recorded two incidents of intimidation motivated by anti-African American hate or bias, one incident of intimidation motivated by anti-Asian hate or bias and one incident of intimidation motivated by anti-Muslim hate or bias. This marks a continuing pattern of hate or bias-motivated incidents that the department has logged in recent years. 

This year’s report marks the first time hazing appears as its own Clery Act crime category, a change mandated by the Stop Campus Hazing Act. No hazing incidents were reported on any Mason campus in 2025. 

Passed in 1990, the Clery Act is a federal law that requires colleges and universities receiving federal funding to track, publish and share campus crime statistics and safety policies every Oct. 1. 

Fowler cautioned that broad conclusions are difficult to draw from year-to-year fluctuations. 

“The numbers are small, it’s hard to attribute a reason for the decline,” he said, pointing to changes in reporting patterns as one possible factor.

At Mason’s Arlington campus, reported stalking incidents rose from four in 2024 to five in 2025, while the Science and Technology Campus and the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation reported no violent crimes in 2025. Mason Korea reported one rape in 2024 and none in 2025. 

Fowler encouraged students to report anything that seems out of place, even without certainty a crime occurred. 

“The more information the police department has, the more we can do to go after thieves,” he said. 

He also recommended registering bikes through Parking and Transportation Services, parking scooters and bikes in well-lit or camera-monitored areas and avoiding storing credit cards in lockers on or off campus.

Fowler said Mason officers have tools not available to typical law enforcement officers, including the ability to refer a student to the Office of Student Conduct in addition to, or instead of, an arrest. He also acknowledged the particular difficulty of preventing stalking on a college campus. 

“We, as a university, get a lot of reports of stalking. It’s hard to prevent stalking. Universities are the perfect place for people to get stalked,” he said.

Along with the annual security report, Mason Police also maintain the Daily Crime and Fire Log, which details the calls for service that officers respond to on a daily basis.

Fowler encouraged students to use the buddy system when out on campus and to call Mason Police whenever something feels off, whether that is 911 for emergencies or the department’s non-emergency line, 703-993-2810, for everything else. 

He also pointed to the department’s free Safety Escort Program as another resource available to any student walking campus after dark.