Clery Counting the Classics: A Practical Guide to Watching Your Favorite Films

Have you ever wondered what Darth Vader’s Annual Security Report looks like? Have you watched The Hobbit and wondered if Bilbo Baggins was actually committing burglary while stealing the Heart of the Mountain from Smaug? Have you considered how many crimes the McAllister’s from Home Alone would have to disclose if they published a Daily Crime Log? One of our Assistant Directors of Programs, Paul Hinkle, sure has and took it upon himself to answer the important question: how do you Clery count the classics? This series will strive to bring you an accurate count in order to satisfy your curiosity and hopefully learn some lessons about counting Clery Act crimes from these cinematic sensations.

Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), Disney+ 

A long, long time ago—meaning December of last year—in a galaxy far away (meaning his living room) Paul began the adventure of counting and classifying the crimes that occurred in Star Wars: A New Hope. Supplied with little more than a bowl of popcorn, paper and pen, and our Collecting, Classifying and Counting Guide, he went to work trying to create the most accurate Clery Act compliant annual statistics report in all of Star Wars history–purely for entertainment purposes.

The Scrolling Text

As is normal for most Star Wars films, the stage must be set with some scrolling yellow text flying in front of the screen to provide context. For our purposes, this text is less about the story so far and more about talking through the considerations necessary to conduct this assessment. In order to provide you with the most accurate count possible, Paul believed it was best to define two “institutions” in this film: the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. 

Photo by Austin on Unsplash

The only higher education institution actually referred to in this film is the Imperial Academy. Uncle Owen is the only thing that stood between Luke and enrollment in the Empire which would have made for a very different film.

Because these are the two major players who own or control many of the locations, let’s pretend both of these organizations receive Title IV funding, are Institutions of Higher Education, and therefore are required to comply with the Clery Act in a weird alternate universe. 

Because assessments for “frequently used by students” becomes difficult when there aren’t any actual students, Paul decided that rank-and-file stormtroopers and rebel troopers should serve as a placeholder for students, whereas officers and authority figures should be considered employees. Under this application, Luke Skywalker is considered a student since he is under tutelage of Obi-Wan Kenobi for most of the film; whereas Princess Leia is considered an employee as an active agent of the Rebellion. In addition, he defined “educational purposes” as the primary functions of either the Rebel Alliance or the Empire, even though they are not actually educational by nature.

Rebel Alliance Crime Statistics

Hate Crimes: There are no reported hate crimes for the Rebel Alliance.
Unfounded Crimes: There are no unfounded crimes for the Rebel Alliance.

Let’s break down this chart to see what happened and how we got here. We’ll do this in chronological order to the movie, so you can feel free to watch and count along as we go.

The Diplomatic Ship

The first scene concerning the Rebel Alliance is on a diplomatic mission starship that is being pursued by Darth Vader’s Imperial Cruiser. The diplomatic ship is captured by the Empire, boarded, and a firefight ensues, leading us to our first classifying and counting considerations. We know that this ship is controlled by the Rebel Alliance, and so we must assess if it meets definitions to count as being a part of Clery geography. Because noncampus property can include research vessels and other ships, the diplomatic ship fits nicely into our definition of noncampus property for counting purposes.

In the opening firefight, 12 Rebel soldiers die or are seen dead on-screen, as well as four stormtroopers, and the first classifying consideration is regarding the application of justifiable homicide for the stormtroopers. Because the Empire broke into this property with the intent to commit several felonies, the Rebel troopers who shot and killed these stormtroopers acted in self-defense during the commission of a felony. This means these actions are covered by the UCR definition of justifiable homicide and therefore would not be counted under Clery—which is why there are 12 counts of homicide as opposed to 16. The same event also resulted in many attempted homicides with lasers that were shot toward stormtroopers and Rebel soldiers alike. Attempted homicides, by definition, should be counted as aggravated assaults; however, in this scenario specifically, we do not count these assaults for two reasons:

• 1. The stormtroopers were breaking into the vessel while committing several felonies, and therefore shots fired at them by Rebel soldiers were done so in self-defense. Even though these actions do not result in the death of many stormtroopers, the action of attempting to use lethal force to defend themselves is still protected as justifiable self-defense and therefore not reportable under the Clery Act, as the action is not criminal in nature.
• 2. Shots fired at Rebel soldiers would be covered under the hierarchy rule. Out of all Clery reportable crimes, there are three that occur during this scene: homicide, robbery, and aggravated assault. In this particular scenario, the elements of burglary are contained within the definition of robbery. Remember, these stormtroopers are attempting to steal back the plans for the Death Star from the control of the Rebels. They are doing so while brandishing weapons and using lethal force against others, which is why the actions of the stormtroopers and Vader meet the definition of robbery and not burglary. Regardless, the application of the hierarchy rule to criminal offenses results in only counting the most serious offenses to occur for inclusion in annual statistics. As homicide is the most serious criminal offense in this scene, only those crimes meeting that definition are counted for inclusion in the annual statistics, even though there was a robbery and multiple aggravated assaults that also occurred as part of the same incident. This is because there is not a distinct separation of time or place between these offenses that would lead us to classify them as separate.

Because homicide is counted by victim, the diplomatic ship is home to 12 of the 14 noncampus homicides in the Rebellion’s statistics. Fun fact, if no force or threat of force had been used in this attempt, but instead had R2-D2 had been smuggled out, this would have been a burglary as vessels are included in the UCR definition of structure. This is why there is no motor vehicle theft reportable when the ship is stolen.

Photo by Daniel Maquiling on Unsplash

Like most criminals in movies, Darth Vader got the memo to wear all black while breaking and entering, which makes him easy to identify as a burglar.

Tatooine

Tatooine presents the next challenge for counting statistics for the Rebellion, however this is mostly due to geography considerations. In this particular case, we need to first assess Luke’s family home and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s residence.

Luke’s family home is the most pressing issue here as we know that two homicides and an arson take place at this location. Owen and Beru’s moisture farm does not appear to meet any definition to be included in the Rebellion’s geography, as neither Owen or Beru were affiliated with the Rebellion. Because of this, the property is neither owned or controlled by the Rebellion (or any recognized student organization of the rebellion) and therefore falls outside of the consideration for geography, and the crimes that take place at this location would not be considered for the purposes of our Clery count.

Obi-Wan Kenobi’s house might meet the definition of a campus property if we consider Obi-Wan to be an agent of the Rebellion and the function of protecting Luke to be part of what we have defined above as educational purposes. (There is additional context provided here in some of the other movies and shows that are not expressly indicated in this film.) However, he is stationed here by the now-defunct Jedi order, and the relationship between Obi-Wan and the Rebellion effort is undefined. In the absence of clear information, we cannot state that Obi-Wan is an agent of the Rebellion until he receives the mission to return the Death Star plans to Alderaan. Therefore, there is no Clery Geography on Tatooine and so there are no crimes to report from this location.

The Millennium Falcon

Hired by the Rebellion by a newly invested Obi-Wan and Luke, the Millennium Falcon hyper-jumps into our geography consideration as noncampus geography. Because they are granted exclusive use of the space which is reserved for the purposes of the Rebellion, and because it is being frequented by a student (Luke), we now have another noncampus property for the Rebellion. As such, we have an interesting assessment to make as the ship escapes Tatooine and is fired upon by the Empire: does this count as aggravated assault if they are firing at the ship which is endangering the people inside?

The initial confrontation with stormtroopers in the spaceport prior to takeoff would not be considered within Clery Geography as the spaceport itself is not Clery reportable. As a public spaceport, we have no record of a written agreement providing control of space in what would amount to a parking lot, as such it would likely land outside of Clery Geography. So, although the stormtroopers and Han Solo engage in a brief firefight outside of the Millennium Falcon, this would not be sufficient to include in the Rebellion’s statistics. However, in the last seconds of this scene, Han Solo steps onto the gangway of the Falcon and runs into the ship. During these few moments, he is still being fired upon by stormtroopers who are utilizing deadly weapons as he steps into what we established as noncampus Clery Geography. Even though those stormtroopers are not standing in geography, because the crime results in the victim experiencing it in Geography, this crime should still be counted. Since aggravated assault is counted by victim, not by perpetrator or operation, this incident adds one count of aggravated assault to the Rebellion’s annual statistics in noncampus property.

As the Millennium Falcon departs the spaceport, stormtroopers continue firing at the hull toward the direction of the cockpit, which led to an interesting question: do weapons fired at individuals in vessels count as aggravated assaults? Star Wars canon has reasonably established that blaster fire would not be sufficient to penetrate the hull of the Millennium Falcon when deflector shields are engaged. However, it is clear from the movie that blaster fire is concentrated on the cockpit, and should the deflector shield not yet been engaged or failed, or sufficient enough concentrated fire have pierced through, this could have resulted in significant injury or death of those inside–and the intent of causing severe bodily injury is clear. Therefore, three additional counts—one each for Luke, Obi-wan, and Chewbacca—should be added to the Rebellion’s aggravated assault statistics for noncampus, even though no injury was caused, as they are now also considered victims in this incident.

The consideration of actions outside of geography affecting those in geography comes up again as the Falcon is chased away from the planet under additional fire by two Imperial destroyers. The movie does not establish if these are fully-charged turbo lasers, as the Star Wars universe has well established that lasers may be used to either disable different aspects of vessels, such as hyperdrives and weapons systems, or destroy vessels entirely. During the movie we are experiencing the event with Han, Obi-Wan, Luke, and Chewbacca. It is clear they feel their lives are in danger, and therefore the Rebellion would have received this report as an attempt at destroying the ship and should classify this as a reported aggravated assault. This incident adds four additional counts of aggravated assault, as this clearly has a significant separation of space from the planet below. This brings the total aggravated assault count to eight noncampus aggravated assaults in the Millennium Falcon. We will leave it to you to decide if this has been miscounted for failing to include the droids as victims, as the Star Wars universe does not demonstrate consistency in this application.

Before moving on from the Millennium Falcon, there are three remaining crimes to classify and count based on this property. The remaining two homicides and single motor vehicle theft report occur when the Falcon is taken in by the Death Star’s tractor beam. The two homicides are easy to remember as Luke and Han relieve two stormtroopers of their armor by luring them into the Falcon. Although these deaths happen off-screen, because these stormtroopers are never seen again, the likelihood they are alive is minimal. In fact, if you are nerdy enough—and Paul is—you can research what happens to them and discover a short story referring to these two specific stormtroopers as being “murdered by rebel scum”. 

The count of motor vehicle theft is a little trickier, however, and is probably not for the reason you are thinking. Remember, we did not count a motor vehicle theft from Leia’s diplomatic ship even though it was stolen by the Empire. Again, this is because spaceships do not meet the definition of motor vehicles under the Clery Act, as vessels such as ships—which are most closely related to spaceships—are defined by the UCR program as structures, not vehicles. So then why are we counting a motor vehicle theft when the Millennium Falcon is taken? 

It is because there is one vehicle aboard the Falcon when it is stolen.

Photo by Mathieu Stern on Unsplash

This is how a fight between R2D2 and us would go.
Us: You are a vehicle.
R2D2: I am not!
Us: Are too!

That’s right, everyone’s favorite astromech droid is a vehicle under Clery Act/UCR definitions. Remember that a vehicle is any “self-propelled vehicle that runs on land surface and not on rails”, and therefore R2D2’s motorized mobility would meet that definition. Because the entirety of the Falcon is stolen and brought into the Death Star, the vehicle that is inside is also stolen even though he is recovered later and returned to the Rebellion. This theft is the one count of noncampus motor vehicle theft for the Rebel Alliance’s crime statistics.

Because the theft of R2D2 also occurred within the Death Star, you might be wondering if the Empire should also count this crime in their statistics. We think now is a great time to assess this issue.

Galactic Empire Crime Statistics

Hate Crimes: There are no reported hate crimes for the Galactic Empire.
Unfounded Crimes: There are no unfounded crimes for the Galactic Empire.

You might be looking at this chart and saying to yourself, “Wait! There are so many crimes happening in the Empire’s geography,” in which case, you would be entirely correct. In fact, as Paul counted there was one motor vehicle theft, at least one robbery, a burglary, and so many homicides and/or aggravated assaults that he lost count on a single watch of the movie. When the Death Star explodes there should be an additional 1.5 to 2 million homicides added to this number according to most estimates. However, there is one issue here that prevented the Empire from counting any of these statistics:

Closed Campuses

The Death Star has been permanently closed for business and is no longer a campus property owned by the Empire. The User’s Guide for the Campus Safety and Security Reporting Tool system tells us: “If a campus was open during the reporting period, but is permanently closed as of October 1, when the ASR is due to be published, you do not need to continue reporting for it in the survey” (p.3). This also includes the requirement to publish an ASR for that campus as there would no longer be any employees or students at that campus to whom the report should be sent. Because institutions do not have to report on statistics that have occurred on permanently closed campuses, all of the crimes that occurred within the Death Star are no longer included in Empire’s annual statistics. 

For the eagle-eyed Star Wars fans, you may have been wondering why we did not consider the approximately 2 billion homicides that occurred when the Death Star blew up Alderaan, which itself may have been included as Rebellion geography. Besides the complication of monolithic planets standing in for nations, industries, and corporate bodies, we were able to skip that analysis because it is the same situation: one can’t report on a campus when there is no campus anymore.

End Credits

In journeying through this movie, you can see why statistics counting can sometimes get difficult. Assessing geography, understanding crime definitions, and applying consistency in the way that you interpret these definitions is important to creating a clear foundation for the reports coming to you on campus. Understanding when geography changes, and when control is created between your institution and third parties can really help to manage these processes. What film do you want to see us tackle next? Because we hope this type of blog does not finish with “The End”, but with…