|
|
 |
"Dedicated to the Safety of Our Community" serves as the campus security report for the UC Santa Barbara campus. In 1998, the federal government passed The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, formerly The Student Right-to-Know Act of 1990. This law requires colleges and universities receiving federal funding to disclose reported instances of criminal activity on their campuses. The Clery Act requires the compilation and disclosure of campus crime statistics, campus safety policies, and crime log information, as well as provision of information on timely warning requirements.
The UC Santa Barbara Police Department has responsibility for gathering statistics, identifying reportable crimes, and reporting statistics to the Department of Education, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the public (refer to the UC Annual Report at http://police.berkeley.edu/annual_report/2005). Statistics are reported by UCSB in different formats and categories depending upon legal requirements. The FBI requires campuses to report different crimes than are required by the Clery Act, while the Clery Act requires statistics to be reported from a wider geographic area than the FBI (e.g., adjacent public property and student organization properties). The Clery Act also requires reports of student disciplinary referrals in addition to arrests for drug, alcohol, and weapons offenses. Further, the Clery Act mandates the collection of information on incidents reported to non-law enforcement Campus Security Authorities having "significant responsibility for students or campus activities."
The FBI requires reporting only of crimes reported to the police. In compliance with the Clery Act, the UCSB Police Department and Office of Student Life have produced this web site, "Dedicated to the Safety of Our Community," which contains the aforementioned information. The campus security report is compiled using previous calendar year statistics gathered from the following sources: crime reports received by the UCSB Police Department; crime statistics compiled by outside police agencies; and incident reports received by other Campus Security Authorities. In addition to incident reports, information and comments are solicited from the Campus Security Authorities. All crime statistic submissions are analyzed for duplicate reporting then compiled into tables. Annually in early fall, registered students and all faculty and staff receive notification of the availability of updated crime statistics on the "Dedicated to the Safety of Our Community" web site. Prospective employees and students are also provided with notification of the UCSB web site. A hardcopy of the report is available upon request by contacting the Office of Student Life at (805) 893-7884.
UCSB makes continual efforts to reduce crime on campus and supports a reporting philosophy that encourages victims or witnesses to report all incidents immediately to either the UCSB Police or anonymously to a Campus Security Authority. However, in cases of sexual assault, the University recognizes that reporting to law enforcement is a personal decision and respects the right of the survivor to make that decision. Incidents that may or may not be crimes may be reported to Campus Security Authorities which include, in addition to the Police Department, those with responsibility for controlling access to buildings or facilities and officials having significant responsibility for student or campus activities. Licensed counselors (including certified Sexual Assault Victim Counselors) and campus clergy (pastoral counselors) are exempt from reporting requirements. UCSB encourages counselors and clergy, if and when they deem it appropriate, to inform those they counsel of procedures for reporting crimes on a voluntary, confidential basis for inclusion in the campus security report.
Non-police Campus Security Authorities receiving reports of incidents that may be reportable crimes under the Clery Act report the incident to a full-time professional staff member in UCSB's Women's Center. These reports are confidential unless the victim gives permission to document identifying information or for police to investigate. This information is cross-referenced with reports received by the police in order to reduce the risk of duplicate reporting. The UCSB Police Department also reviews the information to ensure the incidents listed are congruent with FBI Uniform Crime Reporting classifications. Federal regulations specify that crime statistics must be compiled "using the definitions of crimes provided in the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Hate Crime Data Collection Guidelines and Training Guide for Hate Crime Data Collection." An incident need not be included as a crime statistic unless "the appropriate law enforcement officials conclude that the crime did occur with the same degree of certainty that they would require for purposes of reporting under the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting System." Because incidents not reported to the police usually cannot be verified as crimes in the same way that law enforcement agency reports can be verified, the campus security report may not list them as "crimes."
|
|
|
