The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (The Clery Act)

Test

The Clery Act, found in section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), requires Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) that participate in the Title IV HEA federal student financial assistance programs to disclose campus crime statistics and security information.¹ The Clery Act requires IHEs to provide timely warnings to the campus community about crimes reported to campus security authorities that represent a threat to students and employees. IHEs are also required to maintain a log of crimes that have been reported to the campus police or security department. The Clery Act requires that in their annual security report, IHEs must include a statement of policy regarding the institution’s emergency response and evacuation procedures. These procedures should clearly delineate the responsibilities of individuals involved during an emergency, the notification and communication strategies to share information with the campus community, and information regarding the implementation of an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP).

Generally, the requirements under the Clery Act fall into three categories:

Reporting crime statistics and disclosing security-related policies
1. Every IHE must collect, classify, and count reported crimes and disclose crime statistics for certain crimes to the campus community and the public. This is performed via the U.S. Department of Education’s campus security website.

Crimes Reported Under the Clery Act

CRIMINAL OFFENSES	HATE CRIMES (ANY OF THE CRIMES LISTED UNDER CRIMINAL OFFENSES IN ADDITION TO THE ONES BELOW)	ARRESTS AND REFERRALS FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION
Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter	Larceny-Theft	Weapons Law Violations
Negligent Manslaughter	Simple Assault	Liquor Law Violations
Sex Offenses Forcible Non-forcible (i.e.,incest and statutory rape)	Intimidation	Drug Law Violations
Robbery	Destruction, Damage, or Vandalism of Property
Aggravated Assault
Burglary
Motor Vehicle Theft
Arson

1. 1. Under certain circumstances an IHE must issue a campus alert to provide members of the campus community with information necessary to make informed decisions about their health and safety. There are two kinds of alerts under the Clery Act:
    1. Timely warnings are issued for certain crimes that represent a threat to the safety of students or employees.
    2. Emergency notifications are issued upon the confirmation of a significant emergency occurring on the campus that involves an immediate threat to the health or safety of its occupants
  2. Every IHE must publish an annual security report that contains safety and security-related policy statements and crime statistics, and distribute it to all current students and employees. IHEs also must inform prospective students and employees about the availability of the report.
  3. Every IHE must submit crime statistics to the U.S. Department of Education annually. Those statistics are available to the public via College Navigator as well as via the Office of Postsecondary Education’s Campus Safety and Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool.
IHEs that maintain a campus police or security department must keep a daily crime log of reported crimes that is open to public inspection.
An IHE that has any on-campus student houseing facility must disclose missing student notification procedures and fire-safety requirements

1. 1. IHEs with on-campus student housing facilities must disclose missing student notification procedures that pertain to students residing in those facilities.
  2. IHEs with on-campus student housing facilities must disclose fire safety information related to those facilities. IHEs must provide this information to students and employees, and potential students and employees, in the same manner as they disclose crime information under the Clery Act.² These IHEs must

1. 1. 1. Keep a fire log that is open for public inspection;

1. 1. 1. Publish an annual fire safety report with policy statements and fire statistics associated with each on-campus student housing facility, provide students and employees with the report, and inform prospective students and employees of the availability of the report; and
    2. Submit fire statistics to the U.S. Department of Education annually.

As part of the emergency planning process, it is critical that IHEs take the time to review and understand all the Clery Act requirements. We focus on two of those requirements: timely warnings and emergency notifications. The U.S. Department of Education’s Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting details all of the Clery Act requirements in depth and provides sample policy statements, diagrams, and other helpful aids for IHEs in complying with this statute.

Timely Warnings
The Clery Act requires IHEs to alert the campus community to certain crimes that are reported to campus security authorities or local police agencies, and are considered by the IHE to represent a threat to students and employees. These alerts must be done in a manner that is timely and that will aid in the prevention of such crimes. The Clery Act does not include a specific definition of “timely;" however, the warning should be issued as soon as pertinent information is available. The decision to issue a timely warning should be made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the nature of the crime, the danger to the campus community, and the possible risk of compromising law enforcement efforts.

In the annual security report, the IHE must include a policy statement that accurately reflects the institution’s timely warning policy and practice. The policy should specify the circumstances under which the IHE will issue a timely warning, how those timely warnings will be distributed, and the individual or office responsible for issuing a timely warning. IHEs must take appropriate steps to ensure that timely warnings are communicated effectively to individuals with disabilities, including those who have hearing or vision disabilities.

Emergency Notification
IHEs must also develop and disclose emergency response and evacuation procedures, including emergency notification procedures that describe their response to significant emergencies or immediate threats to the health or safety of campus occupants.³ This requirement is intended to ensure that an IHE has sufficiently prepared for an emergency situation on campus, has tested those procedures to identify and improve on safety gaps, and has considered how it will inform the campus community and other pertinent individuals, such as parents and guardians.

IHEs must include a policy statement in their annual security reports that accurately reflects their emergency response and evacuation procedures. This policy statement must include:

The procedures the IHE will use to immediately notify the campus community upon the confirmation of a significant emergency involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of campus occupants, unless issuing a notification will compromise efforts to contain the emergency;
A description of the process the IHE will use to confirm that there is a significant emergency, determine the appropriate segment or segments of the campus community to receive a notification, determine the content of the notification, and initiate the notification system;
A statement that the IHE will, without delay and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system, unless issuing a notification will, in the professional judgment of responsible authorities, compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency;
A list of the titles of the person(s) or organization(s) responsible for carrying out the actions described above;
The procedures for disseminating emergency information to the larger community; and
The procedures to test the emergency response and evacuation procedures on at least an annual basis.

In addition, the IHE should take steps to ensure the emergency notification planning, testing, and implementation will provide such notifications and related information to individuals with disabilities, including those with vision or hearing disabilities, as effectively as they are provided to others.

Testing an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) is critical to the successful implementation of the appropriate course of action during an emergency situation. The Clery Act provides flexibility to IHEs in designing their tests and does not prescribe a particular type that must be used. These tests may be announced or unannounced, but IHEs must publicize their emergency response and evacuation procedures in conjunction with at least one test per calendar year. For each test, they must also provide a description of the exercise, including the date and time of the exercise and whether it was announced or unannounced.

Emergency Notification vs Timely Warning

EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION	TIMELY WARNING
Scope: Broad focus on any significant emergency or dangerous situation (e.g., crime, severe storm, chemical spill, disease outbreak)	Scope: Required for certain crimes
Why: Emergency notification is triggered by an event that is currently occurring on or imminently threatening the campus. Initiate emergency notification procedures for any significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on campus.	Why: Timely warnings are triggered by crimes that have already occurred (and may be continuing) and which represent an ongoing threat. An IHE must issue a timely warning for certain crimes that are reported to its campus security authorities⁴ or a local law enforcement agency, and is considered by the institution to represent a serious or continuing threat to students and employees.
Where: Applies to situations that occur on campus	Where: Applies to crimes that occur on campus, in non-campus buildings or property, and/or on public property¹⁰
When: Initiate procedures immediately upon confirmation that a dangerous situation or emergency exists or threatens to exist.	When: Issue a warning as soon as the pertinent information is available.
An IHE that follows its emergency notification procedures is not required to issue a timely warning based on the same circumstances; however, the institution must provide adequate follow-up information to the community as needed.

¹The implementation regulations for the Clery Act are found in 34 C.F.R. Sections 668.14(c)(2)(i), 41(e), 46, and 49. In March 2013, the Clery Act was amended by the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA). VAWA expanded the scope of the Act and requires IHEs to take additional steps to provide information to students and employees.

²Please see the U.S. Department of Education’s regulations on fire safety at 34 CFR Section 668.49 available at the link.

³The Clery Act differentiates among “on-campus locations,” “public property,” and “non-campus buildings or property.” These geographic categories drive a number of Clery Act requirements, including crime reporting and disclosures, and emergency response and evacuation procedures. See Chapter 2 of the Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting available at safety/handbook.pdf

⁴“Campus security authority” is a specific term under the Clery Act that includes four groups of individuals and organizations associated with the institution: 1) a campus police department or campus security department; 2) individuals with responsibility for campus security but who do not constitute a police or security department; 3) individuals or organizations specified in the IHE’s statement of campus security policy as entities to whom students and employees should report criminal offenses; and 4) an IHE official with significant responsibility for student and campus activities.