The Clery Act
The Clery Act is named in honor of Jeanne Clery, a college freshman of Lehigh University in Pennsylvania who was assaulted and murdered in her campus dorm room in 1986. After her death, Jeanne’s parents advocated for federal legislation to make colleges and universities safer, resulting in the enactment of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or Clery Act. The Act is a federal consumer protection law that aims to provide transparency around campus crime policy and statistics.
The major requirements under the Clery Act are to:
- Collect, classify, count, and publicly disclose statistics related to crime
- Identify Clery mandatory crime reporters (called “Campus Security Authorities” or “CSAs”) and inform them of their responsibility to report
- Issue timely warnings for Clery Act crimes that present an ongoing threat to the safety of students or employees – at UIC, these are known as [URGENT] Public Safety Advisories.
- Issue emergency notifications to notify community members of on-campus emergencies – at UIC, these are known as UIC Alert emergency notifications.
- Maintain a program to prevent Violence Against Women Act crimes (dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking); inform survivors of their rights and options for responding to VAWA crimes; and disclose related policies and procedures
- Maintain policies and educational programs to prevent campus hazing, and develop and publish a Hazing Transparency Report
- Publish an Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, post it publicly for current and prospective students and employees, and distribute it to all current students and employees by October 1st
- Maintain daily crime and fire logs
- Disclose missing student notification procedures
- Disclose alcohol and other drug abuse prevention program information
- Disclose fire safety information related to on-campus student housing
- Submit crime statistics to the U.S. Department of Education
Other
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Why was the Clery Act implemented?
Jeanne Clery was a student who was tragically sexually assaulted and murdered in her dorm room at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania in 1986. It was discovered that leading up to Jeanne’s murder, there were a significant number of violent crimes that had occurred in the campus area. At that time, there weren’t any requirements for institutions to track, or notify their community members about, crimes or safety concerns on campus. Jeanne’s parents advocated to enact the law in Jeanne’s memory to ensure that students and others are informed about campus crime and other safety/security conditions so they can make informed decisions.
Who is required to report crimes under the Clery Act?
Campus Security Authorities or CSAs, which include a wide range of individuals with responsibility for campus security or student and campus activities.
Where can I find key information about my campus’ safety policies and procedures?
In the UIC Annual Security and Fire Safety Report! Published each year by October 1st and available to any current or prospective student or employee, this report contains policy information on various aspects of campus safety as well as Clery crime statistics for the three previous calendar years.
What are those alerts that I get in my email or on my phone?
The Clery Act requires institutions to send a timely warning if a Clery crime occurring in Clery geography poses a serious or ongoing threat to the campus community. At UIC, these warnings are issued to students and employees as Public Safety Advisory emails.
The Clery Act also requires institutions to send out an emergency notification if a significant emergency impacting the immediate health and safety of the campus occurs. At UIC, these notifications are issued via e-mail, SMS text message, and website postings as UIC Alert emergency notifications.
What does the Clery Act do to address sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking?
The Violence Against Women Act of 2013 amended the Clery Act to require institutions to have specific prevention, response, and disciplinary procedures in place for students and employees who are survivors of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. UIC’s Office for Access and Equity, Office of the Dean of Students, and Campus Advocacy Network all contribute to UIC’s compliance with these requirements.
What does the Clery Act do to address campus hazing?
In 2024, the Stop Campus Hazing Act was passed, amending the Clery Act to require institutions to take action to prevent and respond to campus hazing. The law was championed by families who were personally impacted by hazing and sets forth new requirements intended to:
- Improve awareness and transparency of hazing by requiring colleges to include hazing incidents in their annual security report
- Prevent hazing by establishing campus-wide education and prevention programs
- Increase transparency by requiring colleges to publish on their websites the institution’s hazing prevention policies and the organizations that have violated them.