About Clery
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act is a federal mandate requiring all institutions of higher education that participate in the federal student financial aid program to disclose information about crime on their campuses and in the surrounding communities. The Clery Act requires UNC-Chapel Hill to:
- Publish a Daily Crime Log
- Collect data on the frequency of Clery Qualifying crimes that occur within Clery geography and publish the data in an Annual Security Report.
- Identify and train Campus Security Authorities (CSAs) on their reporting obligations under the Clery Act
- Send Crime Alerts and Emergency Notifications when a situation poses a danger to the campus community
The Clery Act requires UNC-Chapel Hill to report all incidents of the following crimes when they occur within Clery Geography:
- Murder/Non-negligent Manslaughter
- Negligent Manslaughter
- Sexual Offenses:
- Rape
- Forcible Fondling
- Incest
- Statutory Rape
- Dating and Domestic Violence
- Stalking
- Robbery
- Aggravated Assault
- Burglary
- Motor Vehicle Theft
- Arson
- Alcohol, Drug and Weapons offenses
- Hate Crimes
Hate Crimes are defined as any of the above above offenses, plus the following four crimes when those crimes are motivated by bias or prejudice.:
- Destruction of Property/Vandalism
- Intimidation
- Larceny/Theft
- Simple Assault
The above offenses are to be counted as Hate Crimes when it can be demonstrated that the act was based on a bias or prejudice:
- Race
- Religion
- Gender
- Gender Identity
- Sexual Orientation
- Ethnicity
- National Origin
- Disability
- Does someone have to be convicted of a crime before it is reportable under the Clery Act?
- No. Crimes are counted when they are reported regardless of prosecution.
- Will reporting a crime/incident to a Campus Security Authority mean the police will get involved?
- Not necessarily. Although we strongly encourage victims of any crime to seek assistance from law enforcement whenever possible, a report from a CSA will not necessarily result in a police investigation. There are many reasons why a report might not result in a law enforcement action. For example, in many cases UNC Police cannot initiate an investigation without victim assistance. As another example, if a report is about an incident that occurred outside of UNC Police Department jurisdiction, the matter would be referred to the authority having jurisdiction (Chapel Hill Police, Carrboro Police, etc.).
- What are Crime Alerts and Emergency Notifications?
- Specific details relating to Crime Alerts and Emergency Notifications can be found on the Alert Carolina website. The Alert Carolina Emergency Notification System communicates in multiple ways with students, faculty and staff, as well as visitors, local residents, parents and the news media in the event of an emergency or dangerous situation.
- What are the penalties for not complying with the Clery Act? Who enforces it?
- The United States Department of Education is tasked with enforcing the Jeanne Clery Act and may level civil penalties such as participating in federal student financial aid programs.