Clery Act
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act 20 U.S.C.
§ 1092(f), is a federal law that requires colleges and universities to disclose information
about campus crime and security policies.
Clery Act Crime Definitions
CRIMINAL OFFENSES
Criminal Homicide
Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter is the willful (non-negligent) killing of one
human being by another. This offense includes any death caused by injuries received
in a fight, argument, quarrel, assault, or the commission of a crime. This offense
does NOT include traffic fatalities, suicides, accidental deaths, or justifiable homicide
as defined by law.
Manslaughter by negligence is the killing of another person through gross negligence.
This offense includes any death caused by the gross negligence of another. This offense
does NOT include death of persons due to their own negligence, accidental deaths not
resulting from gross negligence, and traffic fatalities.
Aggravated Assault
Aggravated Assault is an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose
of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault is usually
accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily
harm. Examples of Aggravated Assault include, but are not limited to, poisonings
(including the use of date rape drugs), assault with disease (as in cases when the
offender is aware that he or she is infected with a deadly disease and deliberately
attempts to inflict the disease). If an attack results in broken bones, loss of consciousness
or significant blood loss, or requires medical treatment or hospitalization, such
as stitches or castings (regardless of whether the victim accepts such assistance),
the incident must be classified as an Aggravated Assault.
Sexual Assault (Sex Offenses)
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Rape is the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus, with any body
part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the
consent of the victim. This offense includes the rape of both males and females.
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Fondling is the touching of the private body parts of another person for the purpose
of sexual gratification, without the consent of the victim, including instances where
the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or because of his/her
temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
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Statutory Rape is sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age
of consent. If force was used or threatened, or if the victim was incapable of giving
consent because of his/her age or temporary or permanent mental impairment, the offense
is Rape, not Statutory Rape. In Pennsylvania, children less than 13 years old cannot
grant consent to sexual activity. Teens between the ages of 13 and 15 cannot consent
to sexual activity with anyone who is four or more years older than them. People
ages 16 and older can legally consent to sexual activity, so long as the other person
does not have authority over them as defined in Pennsylvania’s institutional sexual
assault statute.
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Incest is sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within
the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
Burglary
- Burglary is the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. This
includes all offenses that are classified by local law enforcement agencies as Burglary,
as well as all offenses where force of any kind is used to unlawfully enter a structure
for the purpose of committing a theft or felony; unlawful trespass of a structure
with no force such as through an unlocked door or window for the purpose of committing
a theft or felony; and attempted forcible entry where the totality of the facts indicate
that a Burglary was in fact attempted. Examples of offenses that are NOT classified
as Burglary include thefts from automobiles, shoplifting, thefts from areas of open
access, and robbery.
Robbery
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Robbery is the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody,
or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by
putting the victim in fear. To be classified as Robbery, the offense must be committed
in the presence of the victim; the victim must be directly confronted by the perpetrator;
the victim must be threatened with force or put in fear that force will be used; and
the offense must involve a theft or larceny.
Motor Vehicle Theft
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Motor Vehicle Theft is the theft or attempted theft of any self-propelled motor vehicle
that runs on a land surface and not on rails. This offense includes all incidents
where a vehicle is taken by person(s) not having lawful access even if the vehicle
is later abandoned, such as “joyriding.” This offense does NOT include theft of farm
equipment, bulldozers, airplanes, construction equipment, or watercraft.
Arson
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Arson is any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent
to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal
property of another, etc. Arson includes incidents where an individual willfully
or maliciously burns his or her own property. Accidental fires such as a cooking
fire are not included in this offense.
HATE CRIMES
A Hate Crime is criminal offense that manifests evidence that the victim was intentionally
selected because of the perpetrator’s bias against the victim.
Hate Crimes Bias Categories
Under the Clery Act, the possible bias categories are Race, Religion, Sexual Orientation,
Gender, Gender Identity, Ethnicity, National Origin, Disability.
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Race: A preformed negative attitude toward a group of persons who possess common physical
characteristics (e.g. color of skin, eyes, and/or hair; facial features, etc.), genetically
transmitted by descent and heredity which distinguish them as a distinct division
of humankind.
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Religion: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons who share the same
religious beliefs regarding the origin and purpose of the universe and the existence
or nonexistence of a supreme being.
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Sexual Orientation: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their
actual or perceived sexual orientation. Sexual Orientation is the term for a person’s
physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction to members of the same and/or opposite
sex.
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Gender: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based
on their actual or perceived gender.
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Gender Identity: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based
on their actual or perceived gender identity (e.g. bias against transgender or gender
non-conforming individuals).
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Ethnicity: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of people whose members identify
with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language,
common culture and/or ideology that stresses common ancestry. The concept of ethnicity
differs from the closely related term “race” in that “race” refers to grouping based
mostly upon biological criteria, while “ethnicity” also encompasses additional cultural
factors.
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National Origin: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of people based on their
actual or perceived country of birth.
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Disability: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their
physical or mental impairments, whether such disability is temporary or permanent,
congenital or acquired by heredity, accident, injury, advanced age or illness.
Hate Crimes – Offenses
For Clery purposes, Hate Crimes include any of the following offenses that are motivated
by bias:
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Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter, Sexual Assault (Sex Offenses), Robbery, Aggravated
Assault, Burglary, Motor Vehicle Theft, Arson, Larceny-Theft, Simple Assault, Intimidation,
Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property.
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Larceny (Theft), Simple Assault, Intimidation, and Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of
Property are included in Clery Act statistics only if it is committed as a hate crime
(motivated by the perpetrator’s bias against the victim on the basis of race, religion,
sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, and/or disability).
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Larceny (Theft) is the unlawful taking, carrying, leading or riding away of property
from the possession or constructive possession of another. Constructive possession
is the condition in which a person does not have physical custody or possession but
is in a position to exercise dominion or control over a thing.
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Simple Assault is the unlawful physical attack by one person upon another where neither
the offender displays a weapon, nor the victim suffers obvious severe or aggravated
bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possible internal injury,
severe laceration, or loss of consciousness.
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Intimidation is to unlawfully place another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm
through the use of threatening words and/or other conduct, but without displaying
a weapon or subjecting the victim to actual physical attack. This includes cyber-intimidation
if the victim is threatened via electronic means while on campus, on public property
immediately adjacent to campus, or on University owned, leased, or controlled space
that is not on campus.
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Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property is to willfully or maliciously destroy, damage,
deface, or otherwise injure real or personal property without the consent of the owner
or the person having custody or control of it.
VAWA OFFENSES
Dating Violence
Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic
or intimate nature with the victim. The existence of such a relationship shall be
determined based on the reporting party’s statement and with consideration of the
length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction
between the persons involved in the relationship.
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Dating Violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat
of such abuse.
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Dating Violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence.
Domestic Violence
A felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed by:
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a current or former spouse of intimate partner of the victim;
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a person with whom the victim shares a child in common;
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a person who is cohabiting with, or has cohabited with, the victim as a spouse or
intimate partner;
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a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family
violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred;
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any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person’s
acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime
of violence occurred.
Stalking
Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable
person to fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others; or suffer substantial
emotional distress.
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Course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which
the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method,
device, or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates
to or about a person, or interferes with a person’s property.
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Reasonable person means a reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar
identities to the victim.
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Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that
may, but does not necessarily, require medical or professional treatment or counseling.
ARRESTS AND REFERRALS FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION
Under the Clery Act, institutions must report arrests and referrals for disciplinary
action for liquor law violations, drug law violations, and illegal weapons possession.
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Arrest: Persons processed by arrest, citation or summons.
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Referred for disciplinary action: The referral of any person to any official who initiates
a disciplinary action of which a record is established, and which may result in the
imposition of a sanction. This includes only alleged violations of law, not violations
of your institution’s policies.
Liquor Law Violations
Liquor Law Violations are defined as the violation of state or local laws or ordinances
prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession or use of
alcoholic beverages, not including driving under the influence and drunkenness. This
offense does include, amongst other violations, underage possession, furnishing liquor
to a minor or intemperate person, using a vehicle for illegal transportation of liquor,
and any attempts to commit these offenses.
Drug Law Violations
Drug Law Violations are defined as the violation of laws prohibiting the production,
distribution and/or use of certain controlled substances and the equipment or devices
utilized in their preparation and/or use. The unlawful cultivation, manufacture,
distribution, sale, purchase, use, possession, transportation or importation of any
controlled drug or narcotic substance. Arrests for violations of state and local
laws, specifically those relating to the unlawful possession, sale, use, growing,
manufacturing and making of narcotic drugs. This offense includes illegally obtaining
prescription drugs; however, it does NOT include use of legally obtained personal
prescription drugs used by the owner in a manner that is not consistent with the instructions
provided by the prescribing physician.
Weapon Law Violations
Weapon Law Violations are defined as the violation of laws or ordinances prohibiting
the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, concealment, or use of
firearms, cutting instruments, explosives, incendiary devices or other deadly weapons.
This classification encompasses weapons offenses that are regulatory in nature.
