About the federal Clery Act

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (“Clery Act”), is a federal law requiring colleges and universities to disclose to the United States Department of Education statistics regarding specific crimes occurring on or near campus property. The law is tied to an institution’s participation in federal student financial aid programs. It is this law that requires our annual Security Report, published by Oct. 1 of every year and distributed to students, faculty, and staff.

Iowa State University is required to alert the campus community to certain crimes in a manner that is timely and will aid in the prevention of similar crimes. The intent of the timely warning is to enable people to make decisions to protect themselves and their property.

Iowa State University is required to provide a daily crime log that contains all reported criminal incidents and alleged criminal incidents within the patrol jurisdiction of the ISU Police Department. The log includes all crimes -- for example, crimes that fall under the Clery Act and crime reported by a Campus Security Authority (CSA). It is designed to provide crime information on a timely basis and is updated within two business days of when the crime is reported to ISU Police.

Resources

Many Iowa State students, faculty, and staff are Campus Security Authorities (CSAs) through their job functions and have a duty to report Clery specific crimes. Campus Security Authorities receive periodic notices of their duties and online training assignments.

Campus Security Authorities (CSAs) are federally mandated to report crimes and Clery Act incidents. CSAs do not investigate or determine if a crime is Clery reportable. ISU Police use detailed information in the CSA crime report to follow up and/or provide victim services. A link to the CSA crime report form and guidelines for filling it out are included below.

Online crime report form

Who: CSA Information

  • You must provide your name, phone number, email address and the date the Crime Report Form is completed.
  • Note whether the crime was reported to you by the victim, a witness, or third party.

Who: Reporting Party Information

  • If the reporting party wishes to remain anonymous, contact information is not required. However, a Crime Report Form must be completed for Clery Act compliance purposes.
  • Do provide:
    • Information, including the name of the accused offender if revealed. 
    • If the victim has a relationship with the accused to help to determine if the crime meets the criteria for a dating or domestic violence classification.  
    • Names and contact information for witnesses.

What

  • Indicate which crime(s) you believe occurred.
    • Provide details in the incident description to help ISU Police determine the correct classification.

When

  • Indicate approximately when the incident occurred according to the information you receive from the reporting person.

How

  • Describe the incident in as much detail as possible. 
  • If you believe the incident was a hate crime, provide the motivation and include details in the incident description.

Where

  • Indicate the location where the crime occurred.
  • If you are not certain about the location of the crime or if it was on campus, provide details and information to help ISU determine the location (for example, the name of a class or event). 

Next steps

  • Submit the form to the ISU Police Department.
  • Assist the victim if she/he wishes to contact ISU Police and file a police report.
  • If the victim does not want to file a police report but is interested in other services, refer her/him to ISU Police and/or the ISU Student Assistance Office for information about victim support. 
  • To avoid double counting or misinformation regarding crime statistics, please
  • Clearly indicate if the crime may have been reported to ISU Police or another CSA on the completed Crime Report Form. 

Campus support and resources

A range of resources is available for help with safety, health, wellness, and more.

Clery reportable crimes

Murder, non-negligent manslaughter

The willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another. NOTE: Deaths caused by negligence, suicides, accidental deaths, and justifiable homicides are excluded. Assaults to murder and attempts to murder should be classified as aggravated assault.

Negligent manslaughter

The killing of another person through gross negligence.

Robbery

The taking or attempting to take anything from value of the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.

Aggravated assault

An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm.

Burglary

The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. For reporting purposes this definition includes: unlawful entry with intent to commit a larceny or a felony; breaking and entering with intent to commit a larceny; housebreaking; safecracking; and all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned.

Motor vehicle theft

The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle (including joy riding).

Arson

Any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, or personal property of another kind.

Rape

The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without consent of the victim.

Fondling

The touching of the private body parts of another person for the purposes of sexual gratification, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental incapacity.

Incest

Nonforcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degree wherein marriage is prohibited by law.

Statutory rape

Nonforcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.

Domestic violence

Includes misdemeanor and felony crimes of violence committed against a victim when the offender is the spouse of the victim, a former spouse of the victim, or an intimate partner of the victim, or has a child in common with the victim. Domestic violence also includes misdemeanor or felony crimes of violence when the victim is a minor subject to the control of the offender, or is an incapacitated individual subject to the control of the offender.

Dating violence

Violence by a person who has been in a romantic or intimate relationship with the victim. Whether there was such relationship will be gauged by its length, type, and frequency of interaction.

Stalking

A course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for her, his, or others’ safety, or to suffer substantial emotional distress. Note: the physical location of the course of conduct or portions of it does not matter.

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 towards a group of persons based on their race, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin or gender identity. For Clery Act purposes, hate crimes include any of the above offenses (minus non-negligent manslaughter) and the addition of the categories below.

Larceny

The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another.

Simple assault

The unlawful physical attack by one person upon another where neither the offender displays a weapon, nor the victim suffers obvious severe or aggravated bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possible internal injury, severe lacerations, or loss of consciousness.

Vandalism

To willfully or maliciously destroy, injure, disfigure, or deface any public or private property, real or personal, without the consent of the owner or person having custody or control by cutting, tearing, breaking, marking, painting, drawing, covering with filth, or any other such means as may be specified by local law.

Intimidation

To unlawfully place another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words and/or other conduct, but without displaying a weapon or subjecting the victim to actual physical attack.

The third category of crime statistics is the number of arrests and the number of referrals for disciplinary action for the categories listed below. These statistics are based on violations of the law, and not the university’s policies that resulted in the disciplinary referral.

Weapon law violations

The violation of laws or ordinances dealing with weapon offenses, regulatory in nature, such as: manufacture, sale, or possession of deadly weapons; carrying deadly weapons, concealed or openly; furnishing deadly weapons to minors; aliens possessing deadly weapons; all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned.

Drug abuse violations

The violation of state and local laws relating to the unlawful possession, sale, use, growing, manufacturing, and making of narcotic drugs. The relevant substances include: opium or cocaine and their derivatives (morphine, heroin, codeine); marijuana; synthetic narcotics (Demerol, methadone); and dangerous non-narcotic drugs (barbiturates, Benzedrine).

Liquor law violations

The violation of laws or ordinance prohibiting: the manufacture, sale, transporting, furnishing, possessing of intoxicating liquor; maintaining unlawful drinking places; bootlegging; operating a still; furnishing liquor to a minor or intemperate person; using a vehicle for illegal transportation of liquor; drinking on a train or public conveyance; all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned. Drunkenness and driving under the influence are not included in this definition.