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| Jeanne Clery - killed in 1986 at Lehigh University |
I started this entry simply as a way to save training materials I completed for LCC (Lower Columbia College), but I want to add my voice and add my blog to the search results for this very important issue.
Violence must stop.
Violence against women especially must stop.
What is the Clery Act?
The Clery Act is a federal law that requires colleges and universities across the U.S. to disclose information about crime on and around their campus. The law is tied to the institution's participation in federal student financial aid programs. It applies to most institutions of higher education in the public and private sector.
Clery Act compliance is monitored by the United States Department of Education. Failure to comply can impose civil penalties, up to $35,000 per violation, against institutions for each infraction and can suspend institutions from participating in federal student financial aid programs. As you can see, LCC's compliance with the Clery Act is vital.
Subsequent amendments in 2000 and 2008 added provisions dealing with registered sex offender notification and campus emergency response. The 2008 amendments also added a provision to protect crime victims, "whistleblowers," and others from retaliation. This established the concept of Campus Security Authorities.
How did the Clery Act come about?
You may have heard of the Clery Act, but not been aware of its sad origin. Below is the full story, which will help you better understand the importance of the law.
In 1986, Jeanne Ann Clery, a 19 year old freshman at Lehigh University, was sexually assaulted and murdered in her dorm by another student.
The last time Constance and Howard Clery saw their daughter, was on an April morning in 1986 when they dropped her off at her Pennsylvania campus after spring break. Five days later, Jeanne was found dead in her third-floor dorm. She had been raped, beaten, strangled and mutilated with a broken bottle during the attack.
There was no mystery about who Jeanne Clery's killer was. Joseph M. Henry, then 20, had boasted to friends about the murder and had some of the girl's property in his possession when the police came for him. There was also no mystery about how Henry, who lived off campus, managed to enter the girl's dorm. Three doors, each equipped with automatic locks, had been propped open with empty pizza boxes for the convenience of the resident students. Unfortunately, they were equally convenient for Henry. Convicted in April 1987 after two hours and 15 minutes of jury deliberation, he was sentenced to the electric chair.
The Clery’s had thought they were acting prudently when they selected a college for their only daughter. Jeanne's older brothers had both graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans, and she had been accepted there as well. But the Clery’s learned that a Tulane coed had been murdered off campus, and they decided to look for some place safer. They picked Lehigh, located in the rolling countryside of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, about 60 miles from their home. They assumed that Lehigh was safe. Lehigh University had failed to inform students of the 38 on-campus violent crimes that occurred during the previous three years. Therefore, the Clery's didn't know about the crimes that had occurred there recently. And they didn't know about Joseph Henry, a sophomore who had lost his restaurant job because of his violent behavior and who had once thrown a rock through a coed's window.
Only later did they learn of the increase in crime that had taken place on the campus itself. The 38 violent offenses occurred within a three year time period. The offenses included incidents of rape, robbery, and assault. Penn State, with six times as many students, had just 24 violent crimes in that time. Yet, making such comparisons was often impossible.
The Clery family’s anger soon extended further than their daughter's killer. During the trial, they learned about the lapses in security at Lehigh, and shortly after the verdict was announced, they filed a $25 million suit against the college for negligence. It was to be the first round in a campaign that would touch state legislatures, colleges and concerned parents across the country. The Clerys had lost a daughter, but the loss ignited a cause.
The suit was settled out of court, but the Clerys were not ready to close the book. They used the cash, as well as their own money, to launch Security on Campus, Inc., a nonprofit clearing house for information and advice. And, they began lobbying state lawmakers for statutes requiring colleges to publicize their crime statistics.
The Clery’s effort resulted in the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or Clery Act. The Act is actually the latest iteration of a law first passed by Congress in 1990 as part of the Higher Education Act, or the “Student Right-To-Know and Campus Security Act of 1990.” Amendments enacted in 1998 renamed that Act after Jeanne Clery and expanded the campus responsibilities for recording crime statistics, added people from whom colleges must collect statistics, and revised reporting methods and deadlines.
The Clery Act requires LCC to:
- Publish and distribute an annual Campus Security Report
- Inform prospective students/employees about the report
- Notify campus in a timely manner regarding crimes that threaten safety
- Support and maintain an up-to-date daily log of reported crimes
- Identify and train Campus Security Authorities
Who is a Campus Security Authority?
A CSA is any person who has the authority and the duty to take action or respond to student concerns on behalf of the College. This is the most challenging area because the concept of "significant responsibility for student and campus activities" is very broad. Official responsibilities and job titles vary significantly at each campus, which is why the Department of Education can't provide an all inclusive list of specific titles. Their handbook states, "To determine specifically which individuals or organizations are campus security authorities for your institution, consider the function of that individual or office. Look for officials whose functions involve relationships with students. If someone has significant responsibility for student and campus activities, he or she is a campus security authority."
Using the handbook's description above, individuals whose positions meet the criteria for being campus security authorities at LCC include:
- Professional staff in a dean of student's office, including leaders in student affairs and discipline
- Faculty department chairs who consider student complaints
- Staff in the student center or student union building
- Staff in the student activities office (who handle extra-curricular activities)
- Faculty or staff advisors to student clubs or organizations
- Counselors
- Athletic directors and coaches (including assistants)
- Security officers
- Student service and academic administrators who consider student complaints
- Any individual or organization specified in an institution's statement of campus security policy as an individual to whom students should report criminal offenses
Examples of individuals who would not meet the criteria for being campus security authorities include:
- Faculty members who do not have any responsibility for student and campus activity beyond the classroom
- Clerical, IT, and Library staff
- Facilities staff
How does a CSA help LCC comply with the Clery Act?
CSAs assist LCC in notifying the campus of crimes that threaten safety and security in a timely matter.
As stated earlier, in compliance with the Clery Act, LCC must also support and keep an up-to-date daily log of all reported crimes. Each entry on the daily log must include the date, time, and location of the crime; an easy-to-understand crime definition, and the disposition of the crime. CSAs help with this.
A “timely manner” typically means within 24-48 hours of a threatening incident. This can only happen if crimes are reported to security promptly.CSAs help ensure such information moves from reported-by-a-student to reported-to-security quickly.
Now, you know what a CSA is, but what are the requirements of a CSA?
As a CSA, you have some specific responsibilities when a student alerts you of a potential crime. If a student, in good faith, informs you they may have been a victim of a crime, you are to first encourage the victim and any witnesses to report the crime to law enforcement. Then, as soon as possible, you are to report the potential crime to LCC's Safety & Security office.
That’s it. The duties are minimal and very straight forward. However, the ramifications for failure to act, as we have discussed, are significant.
Reported in "good faith" is defined as a reasonable basis for believing the information is not rumor or hearsay; and there is little reason to doubt the validity of the information. That can be subjective so we encourage you to err on the side of caution and always report. Safety & Security can then determine if it is appropriate to record.
What isn't required of a CSA?
While there are obligations of being a CSA, there are also things CSAs are not required to do. It is not a CSA’s responsibility to:
- Determine if a crime did or did not happen
- Try to apprehend or otherwise confront an alleged perpetrator
- Try to convince a victim to contact law enforcement if they choose not to
Additionally, you should not discourage them to report. You can provide information and assist with reporting if the victim wants to report.
The Clery Act requires all institutions to record reportable crimes brought to the attention of a campus security authority. Below is the list of crimes that must be reported.
- Homicide
- Robbery
- Burglary
- Arson
- Drug crimes/campus violations
- Liquor crimes/campus violations
- Weapon crimes/campus violations
- Sex offenses
- Aggravated assault
- Motor vehicle theft
- Hate crimes
A crime should be considered reported when it is brought to the attention of a CSA by a victim, witness, or other third party.
The reporting party and the individuals involved in the crime do not have to be affiliated with the College for the crime to be reportable. There is no obligation for the police to investigate the report. If the report is made in good faith - meaning that there is reasonable basis for believing that the information is not rumor or hearsay - the incident is reportable. You should immediately bring it to the attention of Safety & Security.
Where did the crime take place?
Crime location is very important. There are three crime location categories for our reporting purposes:
1. On-campus buildings and/or property
2. Non-campus buildings and/or property
3. Public property
Some crimes may not require reporting because of where the crime was reportedly committed. When you are made aware of a reportable crime, consider where it took place. Record the info and add it to your report.
Non-campus can be defined as any building owned or controlled by LCC or in the same reasonable contiguous geographical area of the main institution.
Public property includes streets, sidewalks, parking lots, parks, etc that lie within the campus or contiguous to it.
What's your role?
As a CSA, then, you can best help LCC, its students, and yourself by reporting any potential reportable crime to Safety & Security. When in doubt, we encourage you to report and let Safety & Security determine what is reportable and what is not.
The Department of Education expects all CSAs to at least ask questions that would provide sufficient detail to properly classify the incident. You do not have to report the intimate details – just gather the basic facts such as the who, what, when and where details. Remember, the crime location is highly important.
Encourage the alleged victim to file a police report, but, don't forget a police report is not a requirement for Clery Reporting. With that said, even if the student tells you he or she does not intend to file a police report, you are still required to report the issue to Safety & Security.
For LCC to meet it’s responsibility for the “timely warning,” you must make your report as soon as you become aware of the potential crime. Within a day is a good standard to go by.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1901.11 - 10:10
- Days ago = 1287 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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