Selected Questions and Answers on the Campus Security Act of 1990 

 

What Kinds of Reports Need To Be Made Public?

1.  Annual Security Report

The report or summary must be given to all enrolled students and current employees by October 1 of each school year.  Distribution of the annual security report to enrolled students and current employees may be accomplished by

• direct mailing (U.S. Post Office, campus mail, or e-mail);

• direct provision of report to all students (hand out); or

• posting on a Web site, and giving notice to all students on where to find it.

The notice must be by U.S. Postal Service, campus mail, or e-mail, and the notice must give the Web address and advise that a paper copy is available on request.  Notice on the Web page or a campus kiosk of the availability of the report would not suffice.

Prospective students and employees also need to receive notice of the availability of the report.

According to the final regulations, the following items must be included in the annual security report:

• the crime statistics (described below);

• a statement of current campus policies regarding procedures for students and others to report criminal actions or other emergencies occurring on campus, including

• policies for making timely warning reports to members of the campus community and for preparing the annual disclosure of crime statistics,

• a list of the titles of each person or organization to whom students and employees should report the criminal offenses (described below), and

• whether the institution has any policies or procedures (and a description of same) that allow disclosure by victims or witnesses of crimes on a voluntary, confidential basis for inclusion in the annual disclosure of crime statistics;

• a statement of current policies concerning security of an access to campus facilities, including campus residences, and security considerations used in the maintenance of campus facilities;

• a statement of current policies concerning campus law enforcement that

• addresses the enforcement authority of security personnel, including their relationship with State and local police agencies and whether those security personnel have the authority to arrest individuals,

• encourages accurate and prompt reporting of all crimes, and

• describes procedures, if any, that encourage professional or pastoral counselors to inform persons being counseled of voluntary disclosure procedures referenced above;

• a description of the type and frequency of programs designed to inform students and employees about campus security procedures and practices and to encourage students and employees to be responsible for their own security and the security of others;

• a description of programs designed to inform students and employees about the prevention of crimes;

• a statement of the institution's policy concerning monitoring of student criminal activity at off-campus locations of officially recognized student organizations;

• a statement of policy regarding the possession, use, and sale of alcoholic beverages and enforcement of State underage drinking laws;

• a statement of policy regarding the possession, use, and sale of illegal drugs and enforcement of federal and state drug laws;

• a description of any drug or alcohol-abuse education programs, as required under Section 120(a) – (d) of the Higher Education Act;

• a statement of policy regarding the institution’s campus sexual assault programs to prevent sex offenses, and procedures to follow when a sex offense occurs. (Details of this requirement can be found at 34 C.F.R. § 668.46(b)(11) and at http://counsel.cua.edu/FEDLAW/Csavbr.cfm)
  

What Crimes and Campus Offenses Must Be Reported?

Statistics on the following crimes and offenses are to be reported in the annual security report, which is also to be made available to all students:

• Criminal Homicide: Murder, non-negligent, and negligent manslaughter. Non-negligent manslaughter is the killing of a person through gross negligence.

• Sex Offenses, Forcible or Non-forcible:  A forcible sex offense is any sexual act directed against another person, forcibly and/or against that person's will; or not forcibly or against that person's will where the victim is incapable of giving consent, i.e., intoxicated.  Non-forcible sex offenses are acts of "unlawful, non-forcible sexual intercourse," e.g., incest or statutory rape.

• Robbery: The taking, or attempting to take anything of value from the control, custody, or care of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.

• Aggravated Assault: An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury.  This offense is usually accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm.

• Burglary:  The unlawful entry (breaking and entering) into a building or other structure with the intent to commit a felony or theft.

• Arson: Willful or malicious burning or an attempt to burn a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, or personal property.

• Motor Vehicle Theft:  The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle.

• On-campus Arrests for Alcohol, Drug and Illegal Weapon Violations

• The number of students referred for Campus Disciplinary Actions¹ for alcohol, drug or illegal weapon violations.  (If included in the report as an arrest, a referral does not need to be reported under this category.)

• Hate Crimes falling into the above list, involving bodily injury, or reported to the campus security office or local police.  (Hate crimes are to be reported by category of prejudice: race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity or disability.)

 

When Must the Crime Be Reported?

Crimes must be included in the annual security report for the calendar year in which the crime was reported to the campus security authority.   This may not always match the date of occurrence of the crime. See 34 C.F.R. § 668.46(c)(2).

 

Does It Matter Where the Crime Occurred -- On or Off Campus?

The institution must provide a geographic breakdown of the crime statistics by four categories:

• on campus;

• on campus and in a dormitory or other residential facility for students on campus;

• in or on a non-campus building or property;²

• on public property.

 

Public property is defined in the regulations to include thoroughfares, streets, sidewalks, or parking facilities that are within the campus, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus.  A map may be used in complying with the statistical reporting requirements.

 

Who on Campus Is Responsible for Reporting Crimes and Campus Offenses?

• Persons who receive referrals for discipline involving alcohol, drug or weapon violations which are also a violation of the law, and for which a sanction may be imposed, must report those cases to the campus security office.

• Anyone who is a "campus security authority" who receives a report of or is aware of a crime must report it to the campus security office.

Campus security authorities are defined in the final regulations as:

• Members of a campus police department or a campus security department of an institution.

• An individual who has responsibility for campus security, but is not a part of a campus police department or a campus security department, such as an individual who is responsible for monitoring entrance into institutional property.

• Any individual or organization specified in an institution's statement of campus security policy as someone to whom students and employees should report criminal offenses.

• Any official of the institution who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities, such as student housing, student discipline, and campus judicial proceedings, but who is not acting as a pastoral or professional counselor.³ Examples of those with significant responsibility may include the dean of students or other official(s) who oversee student housing, a student center, or student extra-curricular activities; an athletic director; team coach; or faculty advisor to a student group.

 

 

For more details on the Campus Security Act see the Fedlaw page on this topic. 








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