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601 S. Henderson Road, Suite 205 King of Prussia, PA. 19406-3596 tele: (610) 768-9330 Howard K. Clery, Jr. Constance B. Clery Benjamin F. Clery Howard K. Clery, III S. Daniel Carter Donald Baldwin Myra R. H. Kodner Frank Carrington, Esq. "Rape: An invisible epidemic" (Sacramento Bee; Sept. 24 & 25, 2000) |
October 5, 2000 The Honorable Arlen Specter Dear Senator Specter: We were dismayed recently to see articles in the "Sacramento Bee" that documented widespread violations of the campus crime reporting requirements of the "Jeanne Clery Act" throughout the University of California system. These schools have been openly violating the law for nearly ten years and the U.S. Department of Education has never done anything to make them comply! "Universities aren't reporting like they're supposed to, and we all know it," said Lance Gilmer, student conduct coordinator for UC Riverside. "It's just that no one is forcing them to do it." Lt. Adán Tejada, of the UC Berkeley campus police department, makes it clear the schools don't respect the DOE's enforcement: "It's about cost-benefit analysis: What happens if you don't do it and what are the chances you'll get caught. Let's face it, who would you rather (tick) off, the FBI or the Department of Education?" DOE official Jane Glickman responded that they preferred to emphasize education over enforcement, but in reality they have done very little of either. The "Sacramento Bee" report concluded that "lax enforcement by the federal education department has allowed colleges across the country to get away with breaking the federal law." We have enclosed copies of these articles for your reference. In a separate trade publication article another DOE official, David Bergeron, commenting about their current collection of campus crime statistics from schools said "we have faith that colleges will only provide us with correct information." This is a mindboggling position for any enforcement agency to take, and the schools are certainly undeserving of this trust. Also, officials accustomed to dealing with financial aid issues do not seem well suited to deal with crime reporting issues. Some have even asked our staff to help them prepare parts of their investigations. The DOE has defied the intentions of Congress, and the American people in ignoring the law like this. We now need your help in making them enforce the law! A campus security policy compliance office must be established and funded to educate the schools about their obligations, perform random audits, enforce the Act through fines, and collect annual crime statistics for public dissemination. Your past support has been invaluable in making students safer and we thank you in advance for your help in ensuring that the DOE finally takes this responsibility seriously. They are jeopardizing lives. Warmest Personal Regards, P.S. Since the Senate hearing which included the testimony of David Longanecker and now the comments of Jane Glickman it is apparent that enforcement officials of the DOE consider themselves educators and not regulators. This is clear contempt of Congress and its laws! cc: Richard W. Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education |
