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Campus Security Authority

Campus Security Authority

In April 2011, The Department of Education sent out a Dear Colleague letter which clarified certain expectations, one of which is Campus Security Authority (CSA).

The Clery Act Regulations define a Campus Security Authority as:

An official of an institution who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities, including, but not limited to, student housing, student discipline and campus judicial proceedings. An official is defined as any person who has the authority and the duty to take action or respond to particular issues on behalf of the institution.

Campus Security Authorities are required to report criminal offenses and reportable crimes that are motivated by hate. The crimes are classified into four general categories of crime statistics:

• Criminal Offenses: 
  • Criminal homicide, including murder and non-negligent manslaughter, and manslaughter by negligence
  • Sexual assault, including rape, fondling, incest and statutory rape
  • Robbery
  • Aggravated assault
  • Burglary
  • Motor vehicle theft
  • Arson
    
    
• Hate Crimes: Any of the above-mentioned offenses, and any incidents of the following, that were motivated by bias:
  • Larceny (theft)
  • Simple assault
  • Intimidation
  • Destruction/damage/vandalism of property
    
    
• VAWA Offenses: Offenses added  to the Clery Act by the Violence Agaist Women Act. These include:
  • Dating violence
  • Domestic violence
  • Stalking
    
    Note that Sexual Assault is also a VAWA Offense but is included in the Criminal Offenses category for Clery Act reporting purposes.
    
    
• Arrests and Referrals for Disciplinary Actions: 
  • For weapons (carrying, posessing, etc.)
    For law violations, drug abuse violations and liquor law violations

Hate Crime

A hate crime is a criminal offense committed against a person or property which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias.

Bias is a performed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their race, gender, religion, disability sexual orientation or ethnicity/national origin.

Six categories of bias are reported:

• Race â€” A performed negative attitude toward a group of persons who possess a common physical characteristics (e.g. color of skin, eyes, and/or hair; facial features, etc.) genetically transmitted by descent and heredity, which distinguish them as a distinct division of humankind.
• Gender â€” A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons because those persons are male or female.
• Religion â€” A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons who share the same religious beliefs regarding the origin and purpose of the universe and the existence or nonexistence of a supreme being (e.g., Catholics, Jews, Protestants, atheists).
• Sexual Orientation â€” A preformed negative opinion or toward a group of persons based on their sexual attraction toward, and responsiveness to, members of their own sex or members of the opposite sex (e.g., gays, lesbians, heterosexuals).
• Ethnicity/National Origin â€” A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons of the same race or national origin who share common or similar traits, languages, customs and traditions (e.g., Arabs, Hispanics).
• Disability. A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their physical or mental impairments/challenges, whether such disability is temporary or permanent, congenital or acquired by heredity, accident, injury, advanced age or illness.

Reporting an Incident

Key elements when reporting an incident:

• Be thorough. Provide as much information about the criminal incident as possible to aid law enforcement and to categorize the crime.
• Personally identifiable information. Crime reports should include personally identifying information if available. This is important for law enforcement purposes and to avoid double counting crimes. The Clery statistical disclosure based on those reports, however, MUST be kept anonymous; no personal identifying information will be disclosed.
• Confidentiality. If a victim does not want the report to go any further than the CSA, the CSA should explain that he or she is required to submit the report for statistical purpose, but it can be submitted without identifying the victim.
• Timely reporting. It is very important that all reports be submitted in a timely manner. This will enable those individuals to issue timely warnings, for crimes that pose a serious or continuing threat to the campus community.