It is common for campus security departments to experience confusion as to what specific incidents must appear on the daily log that the school publishes. While all security teams understand that incidents on campus must be reported, the confusion arises with off-campus incidents. To eliminate the confusion as to whether or not you should report an incident that occurs off-campus, take a closer look at example scenarios.

The source of confusion

Before getting into detail as to which situations you should report in your daily log as part of Clery reporting, you should realize that this confusion is very common. It stems from vague definitions within the Clery Act, specifically the phrasing that you need to report things you are “made aware of.” Such vague language commonly leads to both underreporting and overreporting by departments, and you are not alone.

Where you get the reports from

The Clery incidents that you are aware of, and therefore should report, can come from a range of sources. In many cases, a student will advise you of an incident that occurred while off-campus. Other times, someone traveling or interacting with a school-related organization will inform you, or you may be notified by the local police force.

Reporting is not limited to on-campus incidents

The most important thing to keep in mind when it comes to reporting Clery incidents on the daily log is that there are off-campus incidents that require reporting. In other words, as long as an incident occurs within your patrol zone or meets one of the other requirements of the Clery Act, you should be reporting it.

Off-campus activities that require reporting

The restrictions on the type of off-campus incidents that must be reported under the Clery Act do have a few requirements. The university must be in control of the space that was used for student travel or activity in question. This can be a written lease of a space used for athletics or academics, written agreements for hotel rooms, or for leasing apartments. The agreement giving the university control of the space does not need to include any cost for the school, and there are minimal requirements regarding the written proof; emails are sufficient. Additionally, the space in question must be used directly to relate to the educational purposes of the university and involve regular use by the students, meaning repeated use of some sort.

A reminder of Clery reporting requirements

The requirements of information to include in the daily log according to the Clery Act are identical for incidents off-campus as those that occur on campus. As such, you need to include the date that the crime was reported, the time and date that it was committed, the nature of the crime, the crime’s general location, and the disposition of the complaint in cases where you know it. The entry regarding the disposition of the complaint should only be updated, not deleted. If you need more information on what Clery incidents to include in your daily log despite not occurring on campus, feel free to contact us.