Clery compliance on American campuses: Knowledge and organization by Clery compliance officers

Abstract

The Crime Awareness and Campus Safety Act was passed by Congress in 1990 and took effect on 1 September 1991. In 1998, the name of the law was changed to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crimes Statistics Act. Many amendments have been made to the Act over time. Recent focus on sexual violence and increased reporting requirements have engendered many campus police agencies to work to develop a better understanding of what is required of them and to vest the responsibility of collecting data and preparing the Annual Security Report (ASR) and Annual Fire Safety Report, along with other Clery-related responsibilities to an employee designated at the Clery Compliance Officer (CCO). This study was completed to assess the current status of the CCO, whether these persons were complying with Clery reporting requirements, and what changes are needed to make CCO’s more effective. Failures by the CCO to comply with Clery reporting requirements can result in large fines for their institutions and perceptions that crime on campus is being hidden. The results of this study suggest that almost half of IACLEA member and non-member institutions are likely not in full compliance with the Clery Act because of a wide variety of compliance issues related to ASRs, audit trails, lack of full-time staff who are dedicated to and understand all of the complexities of compliance, inappropriate record keeping and other individual issues.