By Aaron Roberts
The Clery Act is a federal
law also known as the Campus Security Act.
This law mandates that all universities share information about the
crimes committed on or around campus.
This act was proposed and passed into law in the wake of a tragic event
in 1986 at Lehigh University where a 19 year old freshman female named Jeanne
Clery was raped and murdered in one of its residence halls on campus.
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| Jeanne Clery |
According to the Clery
Center, this act comes with several requirements for colleges and universities
to fulfill. An annual security report
must be published by October 1st of each year, which should include
statistics of certain crime statistics from the previous three years. Another requirement the act mandates is to
have a public crime log. This log
contains the date, location, time and nature of the crime that has been
committed as well as the disposition if known.
This information has to be recorded within two business days of the
incident. [1]
The Clery Center states that there
are seven major categories of reported crimes with sub-divisions under
them. The first is Criminal Homicide
with subdivision being a.) Murder and non-negligent manslaughter and b.)
Negligent manslaughter. The second
category is Sex Offenses with subdivision of a.) Forcible and b.)
Non-Forcible. The third category is
Robbery with no subdivision. The fourth
category is Aggravated Assault with no subdivision. The fifth category is Burglary, with
subdivisions stating a.) There is evidence of unlawful trespass, b.) Unlawful
entry must have structure (four walls and a door and a roof) and c.) The entry
was made for the purpose of committing a theft of felony. The sixth category is Motor Vehicle Theft
with no subdivisions. The seventh
category is arson. Along with these
statistics, colleges and universities must also report Liquor Law Violations, Drug
Law Violations, and Illegal Weapons Violations. [1]
Along with these crimes, hate
crimes must also be documented with categories including gender, religion,
race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability. Along with those statistics, documentation
must also be included in four categories if it was indeed a hate crime, these
categories include:
1.) Larceny
2.) Simple Assault
3.) Intimidation
4.) Destruction of Property
Institutions must also issue
warnings that reach everyone on campus from students to faculty about crimes
mentioned in the Clery Act. If there is
an immediate threat to health, there must be an emergency response that
includes notifying the campus community, as well as testing it. Each school also has to report fire data to
the federal government as well as publish an annual fire safety report. [1]
The Clery Act was put into
place to help protect people on campuses of colleges and universities in
addition to raise awareness of possible threats in the area.
[1] “Summary of The Jeanne
Clery Act” accessed January 31st, 2014
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