Campus Security Authorities (CSAs)

Campus Security Authorities
Campus Security Authorities (CSAs) are mandatory crime reporters specified under the Clery Act. UIC is required to identify CSAs using guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, which defines CSAs in four categories:

  1. Campus Police Departments
    (e.g., UIC Police Department, UIS Police Department, UIUC Police Department)
  2. Individuals in security roles
    (e.g., someone who monitors access to a campus property)
  3. Individuals or offices to which UIC instructs students to report crimes
    (e.g., UIC Police  Department, UIS  Police Department, and UIUC Police Department)
  4. Individuals with “significant responsibility for student or campus activities”
    (e.g., certain staff in Campus Housing, Intercollegiate Athletics, Center for Student Involvement, etc.)

The CSA Cheat Sheet is the go-to resource that describes all CSA reporting requirements.

In general, when a CSA is made aware of a Clery-reportable crime, the CSA is required to report certain information about the crime to UIC Police. CSAs may witness a crime, or someone else may report a crime to them, either way, the CSA must inform UIC Police.

CSAs may report to UIC Police in one of two ways:

  1. Calling UIC Police directly at (312) 355-5555 or
  2. Submitting the Clery Incident Reporting Form for Campus Security Authorities

The CSA must include the following information to fulfill their reporting responsibilities:

  • CSA name and contact information (for follow up, if necessary)
  • Date and time the crime occurred
  • Date and time the crime was reported to CSA (if applicable)
  • Description of the crime
  • Location where the crime occurred

If someone reports a crime to a CSA, the CSA should inform the reporting person of available crime reporting and support resources for their campus. UIC encourages accurate and prompt reporting of all crimes to the UIC Police and appropriate police agencies, when the victim of a crime elects to, or is unable to, make such a report.

CSAs will be contacted by the university at least annually to request the submission of any unreported crimes, as an added effort to collect all relevant crime data for our Clery compliance obligations.

 

In cases where a victim (or other reporting person) requests anonymity (i.e., when a reporting person does not want their name or identifying information reported to UIC Police), Campus Security Authorities may leave out identifying information about the reporting person from the Clery CSA Incident Reporting Form. However, CSAs are still required to report to UIC Police to share other required information (i.e., the date/time the incident occurred, the date/time the incident was reported to the CSA, a description of the incident, and the location where it occurred).

CSA reports are used by the institution to compile statistics for Clery Act reporting and to help determine if there is a threat to the safety of the campus community that would require a campus notification (i.e., a Public Safety Advisory email or a UIC ALERT emergency notification). However, those responsibilities can usually be met without disclosing personally identifying information about a crime victim or other reporting party.

In cases where the identity of the victim or reporting person are unknown, UIC Police may be limited in their options to respond to the issue. However, the limited information about campus crime is still valuable to fulfill our Clery Act requirements and to inform the community about the type and frequency of crimes that are reported to occur on UIC’s Clery geography.

 

A Clery Act Liaison is a dedicated point of contact appointed by a Vice Chancellor or Dean to coordinate compliance mandates related to, and provide on-going support for, the university’s Clery Act compliance program.

Part of the role of the Clery Act Liaison is to review UIC organizational charts to identify any employees who meet the U.S. Department of Education’s definition of a CSA.

Click the link below (under CSA Resources) to learn more about Clery Act Liaisons.

CSA Resources Heading link