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 1. Clery Act Complaint Filed Against West Virginia University 2. Bill Requiring Campuses To Call Local Police On Deaths, Rapes Clears Hurdles In Tennessee Legislature 3. Campus Crime In The News |
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Clery Act Complaint Filed Against West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV-The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has been asked to review campus crime reporting at West Virginia University (WVU). In a complaint filed February 13th by Security On Campus, Inc. it was alleged that the University may have improperly classified certain crime reports and omitted them from annual statistics required to be reported under the federal Jeanne Clery Act.
The federal complaint follows a $868,000 civil court judgment against WVU for retaliating against two University Police officers, and firing a third over their attempts to report officials for falsifying campus crime statistics. The officers charged that reports which should have been classified as burglaries, which are reportable under the Act, were being classified instead as "Petit Larceny" or theft, which is not reportable in annual statistics. At least 31 incidents between 1997 and 2000 were documented by the officers. "It is important that institutions properly classify crime reports for disclosure under the Clery Act," according to the complaint filed with ED officials in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "Only in this way will students understand the true extent of crime on their campus allowing them to make informed decisions about avoiding risk." Bill Requiring Campuses To Call Local Police On Deaths, Rapes Clears Hurdles In Tennessee LegislatureNashville, TN-The "Robert 'Robbie' Nottingham Campus Crime Scene Investigation Act of 2004" (HB 2753, SB 2797), sponsored by Rep. Nathan Vaughn (D-Kingsport) and Sen. Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville), cleared significant hurdles February 24th in both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly.
"All the students deserve the right to have a complete investigation," Robbie's mother Mary Nottingham told the Senate Judiciary Committee. Robbie Nottingham died from head trauma, apparently suffered after falling from a balcony at his on-campus apartment last March, but an investigation conducted by the ETSU Department of Public Safety was unable to conclusively determine whether the death was a homicide, suicide, or accident. Under the legislation, as amended in committee, college and university police will call in local police agencies to jointly investigate all deaths on campus that do not occur in a hospital or other medically supervised setting, and all alleged rapes. Local police will take the lead on death investigations, and campus police will take lead on rape investigations. The Nottingham family believes that foul play may have been involved in Robbie's death, and has established a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest, and conviction of anyone responsible for the possible murder. Anyone with information about Robbie's death may report it anonymously by calling 1-888-251-7959 or visiting http://www.robbienottingham.com/. Campus Crime In The NewsCommittees OK bill on who will probe campus crime (Knoxville News Sentinel; 02/25/04) Student sues OSU for $18 million (The Lantern; 02/20/04) Fate of suspect before UTMB faculty members (The Daily News; 02/15/04) WVU could face federal inquiry (The Charleston Gazette; 02/14/04) DPS should be investigated regardless of appeal (The Daily Athenaeum; 02/13/04) WVU should take verdict as sign its procedures may be lacking (The Dominion Post; 02/12/04) |
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http://www.securityoncampus.org/ Security On Campus, Inc. |
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