THE RISE OF THE CLERY ACT

Adam S. Lambert, Attorney at Law

After over two decades of being broken, ignored, and disregarded by many schools, this federal law is now front and center on everyone’s radar.

admit it. I’m old enough to remember the “Tragic 80’s”. I remember Bret Michaels and Dee Snider when they were the lead singers for Poison and Twisted Sister. Most college students today only know them as cast members of Celebrity Apprentice (if they know them at all). Big hair, horrible fashion trends, and a host

of one-hit wonders describe what many people believe to be the tragedy of the 1980’s. Still, some good things did come of those tragedies. Madonna, RUN-DMC, and LL Cool J gave new life to artistic expression. Hip-Hop was born. The Berlin Wall was finally destroyed. The Cold War ended.

1986 was a year of real tragedy for Connie and Howard Clery. In April of that year, their beloved 19 year old daughter, Jeanne Clery, was found raped and murdered in her dorm room at Lehigh University. Subsequently, it was discovered that the murderer was a fellow student who had a long history of drug abuse, criminal activity, and deviant sexual behavior. Worse, the Clerys later discovered that there had been 38 violent crimes on the Lehigh campus in the three years before Jeanne’s murder and the school never warned anyone about the crimes. Still, unbelievably, something good did come out of that horrible tragedy.

THE CLERY ACT IS BORN

The Clerys decided that their daughter’s death would not be in vain. They pledged that they would not rest until they could ensure that every college student (and every college student’s parents) could be assured that they were safe on campus. Knowing that safety begins with knowledge and that knowledge is power, they lobbied Congress to enact laws mandating that every college in the country must inform students,

prospective students, and parents about crime on campus. The first step in protecting yourself from a threat is knowing that the treat exists. Unfortunately, most schools were unwilling to volunteer the fact that their campuses were not safe and secure.

I Adam Lambert is an attorney and lecturer on various legal and social issues facing college students and staff. Adam Lambert is represented by Coleman Productions.

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In 1990, Congress enacted the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990. The act requires all public and private postsecondary institutions participating in federal student financial aid programs to disclose campus crime statistics and security information. The act was later renamed the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act in memory Jeanne Clery. The law is generally referred to as The Clery Act.

THE CLERY ACT COMES OF AGE

The Clery Act became law in 1990. Still, many schools have knowingly ignored the law, or have remained blissfully ignorant as to when, where, and how to enforce it on their campuses. As The Boston Globe recently reported in September of 2012:

For much of the past two decades, some schools have either ignored the Clery Act or reported artificially low statistics. But violations related to recent high-profile crimes – such as last year’s Penn State child-molestation case and the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre – have brought the act more prominence.1

The criminal tragedies that have plagued our campuses in the last few years have placed many more grief-stricken parents and students in the same shoes as Mr. and Mrs. Clery. Like the Clerys, those people demand and deserve answers. How could this happen? Why weren’t we told anything? Who’s in charge here?!

The US Department of Education has listened! Spurred on by public outcries over the Penn State scandal and the rash of campus violence, the Department of Education has increased its Clery Act enforcement efforts to historic levels. As The Washington Post reported in July of 2012:

In the past five years, the Education Department has ramped up Clery Act enforcement. It now has a staff dedicated solely to conducting investigations [into possible Clery Act violations]. It also has partnered with the FBI to audit a random sample of universities, a practice that has revealed widespread problems with crime data reporting and a lack of policies to ensure compliance.2

1 The Boston Globe, “What is the Clery Act?”, by Mary Carmichael, September 24, 2012. Available online at http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/09/24/what-clery-act/BUUayEMxlLa8MByNRmmtRP/story.html

2 The Washington Post, “Federal Officials Probe Penn State For Possible Clery Act Violations”, By Jenna Johnson, July 17, 2012. Available online at http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-07-17/local/35487501_1_clery-act-jeanne-clery-campus-security

“For much of the past two decades, some schools have either ignored the Clery Act or reported artificially low statistics.1”

- The Boston Globe, Sep. 24, 2012.

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Current enforcement efforts have found that, while most schools have the correct systems in place for Clery compliance, many have inadequate (or non-existent) policies and procedures for reasonable enforcement. Moreover, few have adequate training programs to ensure that faculty, staff, and students (yes, even students) responsible for reporting these crimes are doing their jobs.

WHO, ME? YES, YOU!

I have been training students and college staff members on the Clery Act for some time now. Whenever I begin a Clery Act lecture, I like to ask those in the audience whether they are Campus Security Authorities, or “CSA’s”. Two or three out of 50 will usually raise their hands and say yes. I then ask how many people are unaware of what a Campus Security Authority is. Most of the room admits to not knowing. The sad part is that, when I give these lectures, nearly everyone in the room is a CSA under the Clery Act, whether they know it or not!

I’ll make this easy for you. If you are a member of APCA and you are reading this article, the chance is nearly 100% that YOU are a Campus Security Authority under the Clery Act! That means that YOU are responsible for reporting these crimes!

The Clery Act requires all Campus Security Authorities to report crime statistics for “Clery Crimes” committed on campus, at off-campus sites owned or controlled by the school, and in public areas in or adjacent to the school. The “where” can be confusing, but it is the “who” that we are most concerned about right now. Who is a Campus Security Authority?

Campus Security Authorities, or CSA’s, are NOT simply campus police or security guards. CSA’s include many faculty members, college staff members, and even students and unpaid interns. CSA’s include anyone who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities.

In addition to campus police officers and traditional “security” people, this includes:

Campus activities advisors, student life advisors, etc.

Deans of students who oversees student housing, a student center, or student extracurricular activities.

A director of athletics, a team coach, or a faculty advisor to a student group.

A coordinator of Greek affairs.

Student counselors, advisors, and some doctors (although special rules can apply for medical staff).

CSA’s also include many students, including:

A student resident advisor or assistant (“RA’s”), or a student who monitors access to dormitories.

“In the past five years, the Education Department has ramped up Clery Act enforcement. It now has a staff dedicated solely to conducting investigations [into possible Clery Act violations]. It also has partnered with the FBI to audit a random sample of universities, a practice that has revealed widespread problems with crime data reporting and a lack of policies to ensure compliance.2”

- The Washington Post, Jul. 17, 2012.

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A student who monitors access to any campus facility, such as a campus parking lot, kiosk, gym, student union, dorm, classroom building, etc.

A student coach, team manager, or assistant who manages or monitors a sports facility.

Anyone who acts as event security or monitors access to any event held on campus.

Anyone who escorts students around campus after dark, or offers rides home after dark.

Greek housing assistants.

Note that, under Clery, it does NOT matter whether the position held by the CSA is a paid position or not. A person can be a CSA and be responsible for reporting Clery Crimes even if that person is not paid for their position or work. What matters is the position they hold and the work they do for the school.

WHAT DO I DO NOW?

Armed with the knowledge that you, many of your colleagues, and many of your beloved students are responsible for your school’s compliance with the Clery Act, what do you need to do now? TRAINING!

While APCA’s Student Activities Journal will continue to publish articles about Clery Act compliance, the truth is that training on the intricacies of this federal law cannot be adequately relayed within the confines of a magazine article. Training requires face-to-face, in-depth instruction, discussion, and Q&A on the law.

For several years now, APCA has also dedicated hours and hours of valuable ed session time at nearly all of its conferences for Clery Act training. Unfortunately, with so many people being totally unaware of the Act itself, too much of those hour-long ed sessions are spent on raising awareness (as with this article), rather than compliance training. Moreover, an hour-long ed session gives just enough time for the basics and a little Q&A. More in-depth training is simply not possible within those confines.

Come to one of APCA’s Clery Act Educational Sessions (there will be one at this year’s APCA National Conference in Atlanta, GA, March 20-24, 2013). Learn the basics of the Clery Act. Then read up on the Act (I’ll give you the materials). Better yet, hire a professional lecturer like myself to come to your campus and train your CSA’s in person. Don’t be caught flatfooted when the Department of Education comes knocking, or (God forbid) a Clery Crime or other emergency situation presents itself on your campus. You now know that you are a CSA. Get informed!

APCA has promised more space in upcoming issues of the Student Activities Journal for the nuts and bolts of Clery Act compliance. Until then, I hope to see you all at APCA’s next Clery Act training session. We can do this TOGETHER!

APCA’s Student Activities Journal will continue to publish articles about Clery Act compliance. Stay tuned for future articles about the Clery Act and how you can ensure compliance on your campus.