Clery Act Compliance Guide for CSAs

What is the Clery Act?

The Clery Act is a federal law designed to ensure that people are properly informed about campus crimes.

Originally named the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990, the policy was renamed the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) in 1998.

What are the requirements of the Clery Act?

Under the Clery Act, any postsecondary institution that participates in federal Title IV student financial assistance programs is required by law to:

• issue an annual security report that discloses campus crime statistics to current and prospective students, employees and the U.S. Department of Education.
• advise students and employees of Clery crimes and issue timely safety warnings and emergency notifications for crimes that pose a serious or continuous threat to the campus community.
• make available its campus security policies.
• maintain a public, daily log of reported crimes.

Why is the Clery Act relevant to you?

Individuals in certain positions throughout campus are designated as Campus Security Authorities (CSAs) and they are required to promptly report Clery crimes of which they are aware so that the incidents can be included in campus crime reports in accordance with the Clery Act. CSAs also help promote campus safety because timely reports allow campus police to issue alerts when others on campus may be in danger.

What is the purpose of the CSA?

The intent of including non-law enforcement personnel in the role of CSA is to acknowledge that some community members, particularly students, may be hesitant about reporting crimes to the police; however, they may be more inclined to report incidents to other campus-affiliated individuals.