Washington, DC-On October 7, 1998 President Bill Clinton signed into law a higher education bill (H.R. 6/ Public Law 105-244) containing extensive campus security related provisions. The new law will expand the disclosure of campus crime statistics and require many colleges and universities to keep a public crime log for the first time. The provisions took effect immediately.
Many of these provisions are based on the "Accuracy in Campus Crime Reporting Act" (ACCRA) which was introduced in 1997 by Congressmen John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) with strong bi-partisan support.
"I am very glad that H.R. 6 includes the provisions from my campus crime bill. I believe that these provisions will go a long way to inform students, their families, and college staffs of the dangers that lurk on our college campuses" said Congressman Duncan. "Ultimately, this awareness will make our campuses much safer places and allow students to study without fearing for their lives."
Under the new law manslaughter and arson are added to the categories of crime that schools must report. Disciplinary referrals for alcohol, drug and weapons violations must also be included in statistics now. Previously schools had only been required to report arrests for these violations which significantly understated these types of crimes especially alcohol offenses.
Every institution which maintains a police or security department will now be required to maintain a public log of all crimes reported to that department. Incidents must be included in the log within two business days of when the incident is reported. For the first time colleges and universities will have to submit their crime statistics to the U.S. Department of Education for inclusion in an annual report that will be made available to the public.
The new law also includes provisions sponsored by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) requiring schools to disclose statistics for crimes that occur on sidewalks, streets and other public areas on or adjacent to their campuses. Specter also included a provision which will require schools to be subject to a $25,000 fine for failure to disclose accurate crime statistics.
These amendments mark the first major revisions of the Student Right-To-Know and Campus Security Act of 1990. Howard and Connie Clery, Security On Campus, Inc.'s co-founders, led the effort to pass that law after their daughter Jeanne was murdered at Lehigh University in 1986. Senator Specter included language in the amendments to formally rename this law the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act in her memory.
Connie Clery said the new law is "a living memorial to our beautiful daughter and the thousands of other victims of campus crime. This will save many lives."
These reforms come after years of charges that colleges were exploiting loopholes in reporting laws to underreport campus crimes and protect their images. The members of S.O.C. joined with other victims' rights groups, media organizations led by the Society of Professional Journalists (S.P.J.), and law enforcement groups to demand that Congress make schools be honest and open about their campus crime.
Also, schools will no longer be able to use federal confidentiality laws to hide violent criminal behavior in secret campus courts. "Until now, it has been the norm for university officials throughout America to hide the deeds of campus criminals in academic records to avoid adverse publicity," said Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) who sponsored an amendment to eliminate this deceptive practice. "What's most disturbing is that they have been able to do so with help from the federal government."
Provisions which had been in the original ACCRA bill to require open campus courts were, however, not included. "We have a long way to go, especially in getting colleges to recognize the Sixth Amendment by opening up their campus courts to press and public, but the amendable language and framework are now in place," said William M. Lawbaugh, chairman of S.P.J.'s Campus Courts Task Force.
Other provisions will suspend aid to students convicted of drug crimes, and create programs to address binge drinking and violence against women on campus. The requirements, part of a five year reauthorization of federal higher education laws, will apply to all schools, both public and private, that participate in federal student aid programs.
"These changes will significantly improve campus safety across the country" said S. Daniel Carter the Vice President of S.O.C. and one of the leading architects of the new legislation. "Students have been deliberately left in the dark and couldn't make informed decisions about how to avoid and prevent campus crime."
"Also left in the dark are the Boards of Trustees and certain administrators. This public information available to trustees, alumni, faculty and parents will force administrators to provide adequate assets to reduce all types of crime, especially student-on-student crime," added Carter.
Bill signing picture courtesy Clinton Presidential Materials Project.
