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Frequently Asked Questions

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:

What are Clery Qualifying Crimes?
The Clery Act requires us 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

The Clery Act defines hate crimes as any of the above offenses, plus:

  • Destruction of Property/Vandalism
  • Intimidation
  • Larceny/Theft
  • Simple Assault

when those crimes are motivated by bias or prejudice.  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 based on:

  • Race
  • Religion
  • Gender
  • Gender Identity
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Ethnicity
  • National Origin
  • Disability
What is Clery Geography?
Only crimes that occur on Clery geography are included in the Annual Security report.  Clery geography is comprised of:

Campus Property: Any building or property owned or controlled by UNC-Chapel Hill that is within the reasonably contiguous geographic area of the University, including private food or retail vendors.  Examples include:

  • The Pit
  • Wilson Library
  • Dean Smith Center
  • S-11 Parking Lot
  • Cardinal Deck
  • Residence Halls
  • Granville Towers

Public Property: All public property including thoroughfares, streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities that is within the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus.   This includes the sidewalk, street, and opposite sidewalk immediately adjacent to UNC-Chapel Hill property.  Examples include:

  • Manning Drive
  • The sidewalk bordering McCorkle Place
  • Franklin Street

Non-Campus Property:  Any building or property owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by UNC-Chapel Hill, or any University owned or controlled property that is used for educational purposes, frequented by students and not reasonably contiguous to the main campus.  Examples include:

  • Any fraternity or sorority house
  • Off campus research facilities
What is a Campus Security Authority (CSA)?
The University is obligated, under the Clery Act, to identify and train Campus Security Authorities. Campus Security Authorities are required to report any Clery qualifying crimes that they become aware of to the UNC-Chapel Hill Police Department. CSAs are notified of this designation and receive training on their obligations annually. CSAs are not expected to investigate any incidents. Please note that individuals designated as CSAs per the Clery Act are also Responsible Employees, as required by the University’s Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment and Related Misconduct.
Who are UNC-Chapel Hill’s Campus Security Authorities (CSAs)?
The law outlines 4 categories of CSAs the University must designate:

  • Sworn law enforcement officers in UNC Police
  • Non-sworn campus security personnel, such as, but not limited to, those working at
    • Ackland Museum
    • Playmakers Theater
    • University Athletic events
  • Staff in offices designated as “reporting options” under University policy
    • Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office
    • Office of the Dean of Students
    • UNC Police
  • Officials with significant responsibility for student and campus activities outside of normal classroom instruction, such as, but not limited to:
    • Deans and Department Heads
    • Program Directors and Associate Directors
    • Academic advisors
    • Staff in student affairs and student support roles
    • Study Abroad personnel
    • Resident Advisors and Safewalk Employees
Who is not a CSA?
Not every employee is a Campus Security Authority.  “Back office” clerical staff, accounting and IT personnel, and faculty without responsibilities beyond classroom instruction are generally not designated as CSAs.  Individuals who are not designated as CSAs are strongly encouraged (but not obligated) to report Clery qualifying crimes to UNC Police.
How can a CSA report an incident?
If there is an immediate risk to life, safety, or property, please call 911

CSAs may report a non-emergent incident by calling UNC Police at 919-962-8100 or, by using the reporting form on the UNC Police website.

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.
Where can I report a crime confidentially?
There are several options available on campus if you would like to report a crime to a confidential resource:

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
919-966-3658
Gender Violence Services Coordinators in the Carolina Women’s Center
919-962-1343
University Ombuds Office
919-843-8204
Campus Health Services
919-966-2281
Emergency Department at UNC Hospitals
919-966-4721

Additionally, you can report a crime anonymously via the UNC Police Silent Witness page.

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 jurisdiction, the matter would be referred to the authority having jurisdiction (Chapel Hill Police, Carrboro Police, etc.).
What are Crime Alerts and Emergency Notifications?
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has an Alert Carolina System (ACS), which is activated using a strategy that is based on redundancy, using multiple methods to communicate with students, faculty and staff, as well as visitors, local residents, parents and the news media. The University’s goal is to provide the campus and the community with a prompt notification of a confirmed situation and to provide instructions for taking action if needed.

Emergency Notification
used to notify the campus community when a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students, faculty, staff or visitors is occurring on the campus.

However, if in the professional judgment of responsible authorities, issuing an emergency notification would compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to or otherwise mitigate the emergency, the notification may be delayed. In those cases, the University’s Chief of Police, or the ranking Police Department officer in charge during his/her absence, will be notified, and once the potentially compromising situation has been addressed the emergency notification will be issued immediately.

Crime Alert
used to notify the campus community of any Clery Act crime that poses a serious or continuing threat to the campus community, except in situations where issuing the crime alert would compromise law enforcement efforts to address the crime.  These warnings are sent as soon as the information is available to enable people to protect themselves and/or their property

All available information, both public and confidential, will be taken into consideration when determining if a serious or continuing threat exists. Those considerations include, but are not limited to, the relationship between victims and perpetrators, whether an arrest has been made that mitigates the threat and the amount of time that has passed between the commission of the crime and UNC Police being notified of the crime. Although each case will be evaluated on an individual basis, in general a report that is filed more than five days after the date of the alleged incident may not allow UNC Police to post a “timely” warning.

UNC-Chapel Hill may not necessarily issue crime alert for every Clery Act criminal incident that is reported since that specific incident may not pose a continuing threat to the community.

Informational Emails
sent to the campus community to make them aware of situations that do not merit a Crime Alert but would otherwise be of interest to the University community.  Examples of situations that may result in the distribution of an informational email are when a crime or incident occurs outside of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Clery geography or when an incident occurs that is not a Clery qualifying crime but is nevertheless a safety concern.
What are the penalties for not complying with the Clery Act?  Who enforces it?
The United States Department of Education (ED) is tasked with enforcing the Jeanne Clery Act and may level civil penalties such as participating in federal student financial aid programs.