Clery Act
Jeanne Clery | 1966-1986
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) was named in honor of Jeanne Clery, who was tortured, raped, and murdered in her dorm room at Lehigh University in in 1986. Her parents believe Jeanne would have been more cautious if she had known about other violent crimes at Lehigh University.
The Clery Act was enacted in 1990. The Clery Act requires all colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to keep and disclose statistical information about crimes and fires on and near their respective campus. This federal law requires colleges and universities to disclose certain timely and annual information about campus crime and security policies. All post-secondary institutions participating in Higher Education Act’s Title IV student financial assistance programs are required to disclose campus crime statistics and security information.
In order for Western Carolina University to comply with the Clery Act requirements
the institution must:
- Collect, classify and count crime reports and crime statistics
- Issue campus alerts to provide the campus community with information necessary to make informed decisions about their health and safety
- Publish an annual security report containing safety- and security-related policy statements and crime statistics and distribute it to all current students and employees.
- Submit crime statistics to Department of Education each year by type and location
- Maintain a daily crime log of alleged criminal incidents that is open to the public
- Disclose missing student notification procedures that pertain to students residing in those residence hall facilities
- Keep a fire log that is open to public inspection.
- Publish an annual fire safety report containing policy statements as well as fire statistics associated with each on-campus student housing facility
- Submit fire statistics to Department of Education each fall in the Web-based data collection.The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act final rule of November 1, 1999 designates certain members of the university community as Campus Security Authorities.
Campus Security Authorities
Daily and Annual Crime Statistics
VAWA Amendments to Clery
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) amendments to the Clery Act expand the rights afforded to campus survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
Read the complete VAWA Amendments
visit the clery Center for Security on Campus
The criminal offenses that we are required to report are murder/non-negligent manslaughter, negligent manslaughter, sex offenses (forcible and non-forcible), robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft; arson, liquor law violations, drug violations, and/or illegal weapons possession. We are required to report offenses that occur on campus, in residence facilities, in non-campus property utilized by the institution and on public property adjacent to the campus.
Murder/Non-Negligent Manslaughter: The willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another. NOTE: deaths caused by negligence, attempts to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, accidental deaths, and justifiable homicides are excluded.
- Negligent Manslaughter: The killing of another person through gross negligence.
- Robbery: 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.
- Aggravated Assault: An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm. It is not necessary that injury result from an aggravated assault when a gun, knife or other weapon is used which could or probably would result in a serious potential injury if the crime were successfully completed.
- Burglary: The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. For reporting purposes this definition includes: unlawful entry with intent to commit a larceny or a felony: breaking and entering with intent to commit a larceny; housebreaking; safe cracking; and all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned.
- Motor Vehicle Theft: The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. (Classify as motor vehicle theft all cases where automobiles are taken by persons not having lawful access, even though the vehicles are later abandoned, including joy riding.)
- Arson: The willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, or personal property of another kind.
- Sex Offenses-Forcible: Any sexual act directed against another person, forcibly and/or against that person's will; or not forcibly or against the person's will where the victim is incapable of giving consent.
- Forcible Rape: The carnal knowledge of a person, forcibly and/or against that person's will; or not forcibly or against the person's will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity (or because of his/her youth).
- Forcible Sodomy: Oral or anal sexual intercourse with another person, forcibly and/or against that person's will; or not forcibly against the person's will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
- Sexual Assault With An Object: The use of an object or instrument to unlawfully penetrate, however slightly, the genital or anal opening of the body of another person, forcibly and/or against that person's will; or not forcibly or against the person's will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
- Forcible Fondling: The touching of the private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, forcibly and/or against that person's will; or, not forcibly or against the person's will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental incapacity.
- Sex Offenses – Non-forcible: Unlawful, non-forcible sexual intercourse.
- Incest: Non-forcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
- Statutory Rape: Non-forcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.
- Hate: The crimes noted above and also Larceny/Theft, Simple Assault, Intimidation, and
damage or vandalism of property or other crimes involving bodily injury in which the
victim is intentionally selected because of the actual or perceived race, gender,
religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or disability of victim shall be reported
according to the category of prejudice.
Campus Security Authorities are required by federal law to report the above listed crimes that they have direct knowledge of or have been informed about. The information is for statistical purposes.
It is the policy of Western Carolina University and the Western Carolina University Police Department to endeavor to be in compliance with all federal, state, county, and local laws, rules, and regulations. In accordance with the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990, Western Carolina University, through these reports, is making available information regarding campus security policies and procedures as well as crime statistics reported to law enforcement agencies for the area where Western Carolina University is located.
