Summary of The Jeanne Clery Act
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 USC § 1092(f)) is the landmark federal law, originally known as the Campus Security Act, that requires colleges and universities across the United States to disclose information about crime on and around their campuses. The "Clery Act" is named in memory of 19-year-old university (not at Indiana University) freshman (Jeanne Ann Clery who was raped and murdered while asleep in her residence hall room on April 5, 1986.
Jeanne's parents, Connie and Howard, discovered that students hadn't been told about 38 violent crimes on their daughter's campus in the three years before her murder. They joined with other campus crime victims and persuaded Congress to enact this law, which was originally known as the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990.
Since it was enacted, the law has been amended several times and renamed. In 2008, as a result of the Virginia Tech shootings, the Clery Act was expanded to include the publishing of an emergency response plan and to "immediately notify the campus community upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation."
Today, institutions must publish an annual report disclosing campus security policies and three years worth of selected crime statistics. Crime statistics for Indiana University can be viewed on the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool at http://ope.ed.gov/security/GetOneInstitutionData.aspx.
Institutions must make timely warnings to the campus community about crimes that pose an ongoing threat to students and employees.
Each institution with a police or security department must have a public crime log.
The U.S. Department of Education centrally collects and disseminates the crime statistics.
Campus community sexual assault victims are assured of certain basic rights.
Institutions that fail to comply may be fined or lose eligibility to participate in federal student aid programs.
