Clery Act - Clery Act

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act or Clery Act, signed in 1990, is a federal statute codified at 20 U.S.C. § 1092(f), with implementing regulations in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations at 34 C.F.R. 668.46.

The Clery Act requires all colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to keep and disclose information about crime on and near their respective campuses. Compliance is monitored by the United States Department of Education, which 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.

The law is named after Jeanne Clery, a 19-year-old Lehigh University student who was raped and murdered in her campus hall of residence in 1986. Her murder triggered a backlash against unreported crime on campuses across the country.

Jeanne Clery

Clery was raped and murdered in April 1986 in Stoughton Hall at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, by Josoph M. Henry, another student. Henry was given a death sentence via the electric chair by a trial court, a decision which was upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court when appealed. "The attack on Clery was one of 38 violent crimes recorded at the university in three years. Her parents argued that, had the university's crime record been known, Clery would not have attended. They sued, were awarded $2 million, and founded Security on Campus, a non-profit group.

Requirements of act

Annual security report

By October 1 of each year, institutions must publish and distribute their Annual Campus Security Report to current and prospective students and employees. Institutions are also allowed to provide notice of the report, a URL if available, and how to obtain a paper copy if desired. This report is required to provide crime statistics for the prior three years, policy statements regarding various safety and security measures, campus crime prevention program descriptions, and procedures to be followed in the investigation and prosecution of alleged sex offenses.

Crime log

The institution's police department or security departments are required to maintain a public log of all crimes reported to them, or those of which they are made aware. The log is required to have the most recent 60 days' worth of information. Each entry in the log must contain the nature, date, time and general location of each crime and disposition of the complaint, if known. Information in the log older than 60 days must be made available within two business days. Crime logs must be kept for seven years, three years following the publication of the last annual security report.

Timely warnings

The Clery Act requires institutions to give timely warnings of crimes that represent a threat to the safety of students or employees. Institutions are required to publish their policies regarding timely warnings in their Annual Campus Security Report. The institution is only required to notify the community of crimes which are covered by the Clery statistics.

Crime statistics

An institution must keep the most recent eight years (as of 2012) of crime statistics that occurred: on campus, in institution residential facilities, in noncampus buildings, or on public property. Offenses are defined by the UCR Handbook and are not the state crime definitions but rather Federal crime definitions. This has led to possible discrepancies in data reporting. Some changes have been made to further define discrepancies in recent updates to the Clery Act. In 2014, new amendments were made to require reporting on domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. In cases of forcible sexual offenses, there have been reports of colleges questioning accounts of alleged victims, further complicating documentation and policing of student assaults.

Institutions are required to report on crimes such as:

• Murder (including nonnegligent and negligent manslaughter)
• Sex offenses (forcible/nonforcible, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking)
• Robbery
• Aggravated assault
• Burglary
• Motor vehicle theft
• Arson
• Arrest

Institutions are required to report on persons referred for campus disciplinary action for:

• Liquor law violations
• Drug-related violations
• Weapons possession

Institutions are required to report on crimes or bodily harm related to/caused by:

• Hate crimes

Notable incidents

Numerous institutions have been fined and found in non compliance of the Clery act. Many include defining of crimes, reporting methods and alerting students of dangers. From 2008-2012, 14 higher education institutions were fined for Clery Act noncompliance. Large scale Clery violations results in financial fines at institutions such as Pennsylvania State University, Eastern Michigan University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Reports on complaints of Clery Act noncompliance are available from the Federal Student Aid (FSA) website. Federal Student Aid, an office of the Department of Education, conducts reviews to evaluate compliance with the Clery Act. According to the Federal Student Aid (FSA) page on Clery Act Reports, "The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act is a federal statute requiring colleges and universities participating in federal financial aid programs to maintain and disclose campus crime statistics and security information. The U.S. Department of Education conducts reviews to evaluate an institution's compliance with the Clery Act requirements....Once a review is completed, the Department issues a Final Program Review Determination. Although regular program reviews may contain Clery Act findings, this page includes only those program reviews that were focused exclusively on the Clery Act. Below, you can access these reports as well as accompany ing documentation which may include the complaint, school response, or fine action that resulted from the program review."

Eastern Michigan University

The case involving the highest fine imposed on an institution occurred in 2008. Eastern Michigan University was fined $357,500 for failing to warn the campus of a student's assault and death that occurred in 2006. Beyond reporting the incident, the school was fined for violating federal crime-reporting laws. The Laura Dickinson incident has been seen as a wake-up call on how universities report and display statistics on crimes that occur on university campuses. The incident brought forth university-wide changes in campus safety and safety notifications. The incident also brought changes in university administration, including the dismissal of the university's president, John A. Fallon.

Penn State University

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Penn State over the Penn State sex abuse scandal. Their investigation arises from the university administration's alleged failure to report allegations of sex offenses on campus by a former school official as being a violation of the Act. Former Penn State Defensive Coach Jerry Sandusky has been convicted of sexually abusing several young boys over several years, including incidents on campus. A campus safety advocacy group called the scandal "the most extensive investigation the Department of Education has ever conducted".

Virginia Tech

In the final report regarding the April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech massacre issued on Thursday, December 9, 2010 by the U.S. Department of Education under Arne Duncan, Virginia Tech was said to have violated this Act.

Additionally the Department of Education fined the University $55,000 on March 29, 2011 for "failure to issue a timely warning" in response to the shootings at West Ambler Johnston. The university appealed the fine arguing that actions were in compliance with guidelines distributed to schools by the Department of Education in a handbook. On March 30, 2012, the U.S. Department of Education’s administrative law judge ruled in favor of the university, saying in a statement: “This was not an unreasonable amount of time in which to issue a warning. …. if the later shootings at Norris Hall had not occurred, it is doubtful that the timing of the email would have been perceived as too late.”