Subject: Clery Campus Security Proposals For HEA Reauthorization
Date: Thursday, May 8, 2003 8:17 PM
From: S. Daniel Carter <sdcarter@securityoncampus.org>
To: <higheredreauth@labor.senate.gov>
Dear Senators Gregg & Kennedy:
Thank you for the opportunity to offer our comments on possible changes to federal campus security reporting provisions that will be considered by the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions during the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
We greatly appreciate that you have solicited our input on this critical issue. Founded by Connie & Howard Clery, whose daughter Jeanne the campus crime reporting provisions are named in memory of, and as the only national non-profit campus safety organization Security On Campus, Inc. has unique insights into these matters.
In addition to the proposals we detail in the attached document, we would be happy to work with the Committee as it considers improvements to the definition of public property used in the campus security disclosures, and the geographic breakdown used for both general and hate crime statistics, with a specific emphasis on finding a more efficient method to report hate crime information. In our experience these are among the issues which have generated the most apparent confusion by schools in their efforts to comply.
We, however, do not believe that the definition of what constitutes a campus security authority warrants review. The current definition ensures that all institutional officials with significant responsibility for campus and student activities must report crime for the statistics. As noted by the U.S. Department of Education when the most recent complete campus security reporting regulations were published in 1999, this reflects the reality on our nation's campuses that many school officials have responsibility for receiving reports of crime on campus, not just police.
Narrowing the definition, as some in the higher education community seek to do, would merely allow schools avenues to hide their crime by having those officials deal with crime, while those who have to report statistics are left out of the loop.
Our proposals, as detailed in the attachment, will enhance the HEA's campus security disclosure provisions, helping to ensure safer campuses, and thus a more efficient and effective learning environment at our nation's institutions of higher education. We hope that you will find them useful during your consideration, and thank you in advance for your review of them.
I would also note that an Associated Press article running today across the country focuses on how prospective college students, and their parents are making use of the campus crime statistics in their selection process...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/05/08/national/main552981.shtml
If you have any questions, or are unable to open the attached document, please don't hesitate to contact us.
S. Daniel Carter
Senior Vice President
Security On Campus, Inc.
http://www.securityoncampus.org/
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e-mail:sdcarter@securityoncampus.org