Clery Act Compliance Policy
Effective Date: December 30, 2022
Revision Date: First Version
Responsible Offices: William & Mary Police/Office of Compliance & Equity
I. Scope
This policy applies to William & Mary as a whole university, including the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (the university). It applies to members of the university community, specifically including faculty, staff and students and third parties designated a Campus Security Authorities, as defined in this policy and to departments with specified responsibilities for compliance under Section IV of this policy.
II. Purpose
William & Mary is committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for its faculty, staff, employees, students, patients, and visitors. This policy establishes requirements and responsibilities to assist the university in complying with the “Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998,” (commonly referred to as the “Clery Act”) thereby facilitating compliance with the Clery Act and increasing overall safety on university property and for students, faculty and staff members in the community.
III. Definitions
Annual Security Report (ASR) means a public report disseminated to employees and students every October 1st annually and includes statistics of campus crime for the preceding three calendar years, plus details about efforts taken to improve campus safety, policy statements regarding (but not limited to) crime reporting, campus facility security and access, law enforcement authority, incidence of alcohol and drug use, and the prevention of and response to sexual assault, domestic or dating violence, and stalking.
Campus Security Authority (CSA) means individuals employed or contracted by the university who are designated annually because their job functions obligate them under the Clery Act to notify William & Mary Police of alleged Clery Act Crimes that are observed by or reported to them in good faith. These individuals typically fall under one of the following categories:
- A member of William & Mary Police Department;
- Individuals having responsibility for campus security in some capacity, who are not members of the campus police department (e.g. VIMS campus security officer; Muscarelle Museum security officer);
- Individuals or departments where policy directs other campus individuals to report criminal offenses to them or their office (e.g. members of the Threat Assessment Team); or
- An official of the university (employee, contractor or volunteer) who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities and who has the authority and the duty to take action or respond to particular issues on behalf of the university, including but not limited to Athletic Directors, Athletic Coaches, Advisors to student organizations, Dean of Students Staff, Housing & Residence Life Staff, Coordinators of Fraternity & Sorority Life, Title IX Coordinator.
Clery Act Crime means a crime required by the Clery Act to be reported in the Annual Security Report, including: criminal homicide (murder and negligent/non-negligent manslaughter); sex offenses (rape, fondling, statutory rape, and incest); robbery; aggravated assault; burglary; motor vehicle theft; arson; hate crimes (including larceny-theft, simple assault, intimidation, or destruction/damage/vandalism of property that are motivated by bias); dating violence; domestic violence; stalking; and arrests and referrals for disciplinary action f or any of the following: (a) liquor law violations, (b) drug law violations, and (c) carrying or possessing illegal weapons. Definitions of each type of Clery Act Crime are included in Appendix A.
Clery Reportable Location means property that is owned, leased, or controlled by the university which includes: (1) on campus, (2) on public property within or immediately adjacent to the campus, and (3) in or on non-campus buildings or property that the university owns, controls, or leases, is frequented by students and used in support of educational purposes.
Emergency Notification means an announcement triggered by a significant emergency event or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of the university community.
Emergency Notification System is the mechanism established for the purpose of and dedicated to enabling university officials to quickly contact or send messages to faculty, staff, employees and students in the event of an Emergency Notification or Timely Warning.
Non-Campus Property means any building or property owned or controlled by a student organization officially recognized by the institution or any building or property owned or controlled by an institution that is used in direct support of, or in relation to, the institution’s educational purposes, is frequently used by students, and is not within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area of the institution.
Timely Warning means an alert to the campus community when the university determines that a Clery Act Crime which has already been committed or attempted, and presents a serious or continuous threat.
IV. Policy Requirements of the Clery Act
A. Publish an Annual Security Report (ASR)
By October 1st each year, the Office of Compliance & Equity will publish an ASR on the university website documenting three calendar years of Clery Act Crime statistics, as well as university structure, prevention and response to overall campus security and crimes of sexual violence including sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking. The annual report also includes statements pertaining to the university’s structure, preparedness and response to emergency management.
This report must be made available to all current employees and students. Prospective employees and students must be notified of the ASR’s existence and provided a copy upon request. Paper copies of the report will be available upon request from the Office of Compliance & Equity. In addition, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, admissions offices of graduate programs, and Human Resources Office will publish a link to the ASR with a brief description on their respective web sites.
B. Identify, Notify, and Train Campus Security Authorities (CSAs)
The Office of Compliance & Equity, in consultation with the designee(s) of the William & Mary Police Department, identifies positions which meet the definition of a CSA on an ongoing basis, and notifies individuals in these roles of their obligations under the Clery Act and this policy to report any and all Clery Act Crimes that they witness or that are reported to them, which may have occurred in a Clery Reportable Location. The university provides annual training on CSA responsibilities and reporting requirements to all individuals designated as CSAs.
C. Disclose Crime Statistics
The William & Mary Police Department (WMPD) is responsible for requesting crime statistics from Campus Security Authorities, local law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over campus property, and other law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over non-campus property. Statistics are also requested for four additional crime categories if the crime committed is classified as a hate crime, for Clery Act Crimes as well as the following crimes:
- Larceny/Theft
- Simple Assault
- Intimidation
- Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property
WMPD is responsible for collecting statistics from the Dean of Students Office in the following categories of arrests or referrals for disciplinary action if an arrest was not made:
- Liquor Law Violations
- Drug Law Violations
- Carrying or Possessing Illegal Weapons
Licensed mental health counselors and pastoral counselors are exempt from CSA designation. Clery Act Crimes that would otherwise be reportable but are reported to a licensed mental health counselor or pastoral counselor, in the context of a privileged (confidential) communication, are not subject to the disclosure requirement to WMPD.
D. Issue Timely Warnings
The university must provide timely warnings about Clery Act Crimes that occur in a Clery Reportable Location which pose a serious or ongoing threat to the campus community. The decision and process to issue a timely warning is articulated in the university’s Timely Warning Policy. Because the nature of criminal threats is often not limited to a single location, timely warnings must be issued in a manner likely to reach the entire campus community.
E. Issue Emergency Notifications
The university is required to inform the campus community about a significant emergency event or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety to individuals in the campus community. Emergency events may be localized; therefore notifications may be tailored exclusively to the segment of the campus community at risk.
The university also must have emergency response and evacuation procedures in place specific to its on campus facilities. A summary of these procedures must be disclosed in the ASR. Additionally, the emergency response procedures must be tested at least once, annually.
Emergencies where issuing a notification would compromise efforts to assist a victim, contain the emergency, respond to the emergency or mitigate the emergency are not subject to the emergency notification requirement.
F. Responding to Reports of Missing Students
Per the Missing Student Protocol, the university provides every student living in university housing the opportunity and means to identify an individual to be contacted in an emergency, including whenever the University determines that a student is missing.
The University Police Department shall investigate all reports of missing students and will notify and cooperate with other law enforcement agencies, as necessary, to further the investigation. [
G. Compile, Report, and Publish Fire Data
The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 1998 (HEOA) amended the Clery Act to include fire statistics. The Office of Compliance & Equity and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) produce an Annual Fire Safety Report (AFSR) by October 1st each year. EH&S must collect and disclose fire statistics for each on-campus student housing facility separately for the three most recent calendar years for which data are available in accordance with HEOA regulations. Each such facility must be identified in the statistics by name and street address, regardless of whether any fires have occurred.
Additionally, EH&S will provide a description of the fire safety system in each student housing facility, to include mechanisms (e.g., fire extinguishers, fire doors, posted evacuation routes, etc.) or systems related to the detection, warning and control of a fire. EH&S will submit the AFSR to the Office of Compliance & Equity by September 25th each year for inclusion in Annual Security Report and for submission of the statistics reported to the U.S. Department of Education.
H. Maintain a Daily Crime Log
The University maintains a daily crime log documenting the "nature, date, time and general location of each crime" reported to the University Police Department within the last 60 days, and the disposition, if known, of the reported crimes. Incidents must be entered into the log within two business days of receiving the report. The Daily Crime Log is available at the William & Mary Police Department located at 201 Ukrop Way, during normal business hours. Requests for public inspection of daily crime log entries beyond 60 days must be made in writing and will be made available within two business days of the request.
I. Maintain a Daily Fire Log
The University must maintain a daily fire log documenting the nature of the fire, date the fire occurred, date and time the fire was reported and general location of each fire-related incident in an on-campus student housing facility reported to any University official. Incidents must be entered into the log within two business days of receiving the report and the previous 60 days of fire log entries must be available for public inspection during normal business hours. The Daily Fire Log is available at William & Mary’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety located at 208 S. Boundary Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185, during normal business hours. Requests for public inspection of daily fire log entries beyond 60 days will be made available within two business days of the request.
V. Responsibilities of Individuals or University Departments
A. Office of Compliance & Equity
- Monitoring the University’s compliance with the Clery Act;
- Updating the requirements in this policy as necessary when the federal legislation has been amended;
- Annually reviewing geographic categories for inclusion;
- Establishing a procedure for processing instances of short-stay away trips in order to designate a CSA to disclose any Clery crimes reported during the trip to be included in the ASR;
- Identifying those positions with CSA responsibilities and notifying those individuals;
- Maintaining a list of University CSAs;
- Developing procedures for reporting crime statistics by CSAs;
- Assessing crime statistics reported by CSAs to determine whether the incident will be counted in the ASR;
- Educating and training CSAs, and personnel within UPD, EHS, the Medical Center, and Student Affairs as necessary;
- Publishing the ASR and disclosing statistics of Clery Crimes reported over the past three years;
- Annually, requesting in writing crime statistics from local law enforcement with jurisdiction over Clery Reportable Locations of the university;
- Annually, requesting in writing arrests or disciplinary action taken for liquor law
- Maintaining and publishing University policies and procedures addressing campus security and safety;
- Submitting the crime and fire statistics to the U.S. Department of Education.
- Reporting crime statistics (as specified in the Clery Act);
- Issuing timely warning alerts to the campus community about Clery Crimes;
- Investigating all reports of missing students by notifying and cooperating with other law enforcement agencies, as necessary;
- Maintaining the daily crime log;
- Responding to missing student reports.
- Understanding the requirements of the Clery Act pertaining to Clery Act Crimes and general awareness of Clery Reportable Locations;
- Undergoing training and education as determined by the Office of Compliance & Equity;
- Immediately reporting Clery Act Crimes to WMPD at 757.221.4596 or in person at 201 Ukrop Way;
- In collaboration with WMPD, responding to missing student reports;
- Reporting Liquor, Drug, Possession of Weapon statistics to WMPD.
- Coordinating emergency notifications to the campus community when deemed necessary and appropriate; and
- Conducting an annual emergency alert exercise and test the emergency alert system in conjunction with the exercise.
- Collecting fire statistics relative to each on-Grounds student housing facility;
- Updating the AFSR language to reflect legislative updates and interpretations;
- Providing AFSR statistics to the Office of Compliance & Equity;
- Maintaining fire statistics gathered in compliance with University policy IRM-017: Records Management; and
- Maintaining the daily fire log.
- Notifying and providing the on-line location of the ASR and a brief description of the report to prospective or current students; and
- Providing a paper copy of the ASR upon request to a prospective or current student.
- Notifying and providing to prospective faculty and staff the on-line location of the ASR and a brief description of the report;
- Providing a paper copy of the ASR upon request to a prospective or current faculty or staff member;
- Immediately reporting any Clery Act related crime to University Police or the Assistant Vice President for Clery Compliance for a timely warning and ASR consideration; and
- Annually, providing all conduct referral data to the Assistant Vice President for Clery Compliance for inclusion in the Annual Security Report.
VI. Procedures
A. How to Report a Clery Crime
When a Campus Security Authority (CSA) becomes aware of conduct or behavior that reasonably appears to constitute a Clery Act crime that occurred on our Clery Act geography, he or she must report the incident to the William & Mary Police via telephone 757.221.4596 or in person at 201 Ukrop Way, Williamsburg.
B. When to Report a Clery Crime
An employee may become aware of a criminal incident by witnessing an incident involving criminal behavior or by being told about such an incident. The Campus Security Authority should not attempt to make a determination as to whether there is adequate evidence of a crime or whether the alleged incident actually occurred. The Campus Security Authority may not wait for criminal charges to be brought, arrests to be made, or determinations of guilt to be made.
A Campus Security Authority (CSA) must report the incident as soon as possible unless he or she (1) has good reason to doubt the validity of the information or (2) is reasonably certain that the incident has already been reported.
The Campus Security Authority must report even if the information regarding the incident was shared with him or her in confidence (confidentially). If a victim does not want his or her identity revealed, the Campus Security Authority may withhold the identity of the victim when making the report, except for incidents of sexual violence or sexual harassment.
C. What to Report
Campus Security Authorities must clearly identify themselves to William & Mary Police that they are reporting a Campus Security Authority.
The Campus Security Authority should provide as much detail about the incident as possible to ensure appropriate response and accurate recording of the incident.
It is particularly important for the Police to know where the incident occurred (or is alleged to have occurred) and to have enough detail to determine whether they already are aware of the incident.
The Clery Act Guidance for CSAs provides more information about crime reporting.
D. Compliance with Policy
Failure to comply with the requirements of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination or expulsion in accordance with relevant University policies. The U.S. Department of Education may impose penalties per each violation.
VII. Authority and Amendment
This policy was approved by the President on December 30, 2022. The President has authorized the Chief Compliance Officer to make minor or technical amendments, such as revisions to the list of Clery Act crimes (Appendix A) in response to legal or regulatory developments.
This policy replaces the Crime Reporting Policy.
Questions about this policy should be directed to the Office of Compliance & Equity at equity@wm.edu.
VIII. Related Policies or Other Documents
Appendix A - Definitions of Clery Act CrimesTimely Warning Policy
William and Mary Annual Campus Safety and Fire Report
Policy Prohibiting Title IX Sexual Harassment and Gender Based Harassment
Emergency Operations Plan
Regulation of Weapons, Fireworks, Explosives, and Other Prohibited Items
Policy Notice Regarding Alcohol and Other Drug Use (Student Handbook)
Missing Student Protocol
Violence and Threat Management Policy
