The CLERY Update
Issue No. 1 - January 2025
The Clery Update is West Chester University's Clery Compliance's monthly newsletter highlighting Announcements, Upcoming Clery Dates, Clery Facts, Reminders, and more.
Announcements
The Inaugural edition of The Clery Update
This is the first of a monthly series of newsletters for those designated as Campus Security Authorities at West Chester University. The goal of this newsletter is to keep you informed and connected about Clery news on campus and across the country. Too often you are trained as a CSA and then you never hear from the Clery Compliance Officer again— this newsletter aims to change that.
2024 Campus Security Reports
If any crimes were disclosed to you from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 and you did
not report them please use the campus crime reporting form that can be found here . Remember, as a CSA you have a continuing duty to report crimes disclosed to you.
If you are in doubt about whether an incident is reportable, please err on the side
of reporting the matter regardless of whether an arrest was made, or if you thought
the incident was already reported.
We are starting the 2024 statistics review NOW. If you are submitting a report of
a crime disclosed to you during the 2024 calendar year please do so by 7 February 2024.
Stop Campus Hazing Act Signed Into Law
On Monday, December 23, 2024, President Biden signed the Stop Campus Hazing Act into law. The law does several things: effective 1 January 2025, hazing is now a
Clery-reportable crime that must be disclosed in West Chester's annual crime statistics.
Additionally, the Stop Campus Hazing Act requires the inclusion of policy statements
in the Annual Security Report addressing the institution’s hazing policies as well
as information regarding prevention and awareness programs related to hazing offered
by the institution. The law also requires the creation and disclosure of a Campus
Hazing Transparency Report, and the law renames the Clery Act from the “Jeanne Clery
Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act” to the “Jeanne
Clery Campus Safety Act.”
What does this mean for CSAs and their duty to report? Your duty to report remains
the same. If an allegation of hazing is disclosed to you, you report it by clicking
here.
CSA Spotlight for The Clery Update
For each issue of The Clery Update we will be selecting one person from the over 500 CSAs at West Chester to be featured as CSA of the Month. To kick things off, JP Carr is the inaugural CSA of the Month. Watch your inbox because the next CSA of the Month could be you!
Be Clear on Clery
When was the Clery Act first enacted by Congress? (Answer at bottom of newsletter)
Upcoming Clery Dates
7 February 2024 - Campus Security Reports DUE (if a crime was disclosed to you during 2024 and you did not previously report it).
Clery Fact/Did You Know
Effective 7 January 2025, the maximum Clery Act civil monetary penalty will be $71,545 per violation. This is a 3.1% increase from the 2023 penalty, which was $67,544. The Department of Education is serious about levying fines. On March 6, 2024 the U.S. Department of Education imposed a $14 million fine against Liberty University for numerous Clery Act Violations.
Reminders
7 February 2025- submit any reports of crimes disclosed to you during the 2024 calendar year
Test Your Clery Knowledge
Is a parking lot or garage owned by a municipality considered 'Public Property' under the Clery Act?
CSA of the Month
CSA of the Month
Name: JP Carr
Position: Clery Compliance Officer
Department: Public Safety
Fact about Me: I was a 5-year member of The Ohio State University Marching Band (no,
I did not dot the i in Script Ohio).
Answers:
- The Clery Act was enacted in 1990. In the years since it has undergone multiple legislative amendments including most recently the Stop Campus Hazing Act signed into law in late 2024.
- A parking facility or garage owned by a municipality immediately adjacent to and accessible from campus is classified as Public Property. When the borough of West Chester owned Sharpless Garage it was classified as Public Property because it was immediately adjacent to and accessible from campus (you could cross Sharpless St and access Sharpless Garage). The garage is now owned by the university and is classified as On Campus property.