The University Police Department is taking steps to ensure compliance with a federal mandate regarding the reporting of crime statistics. The mandate aims to ensure more transparency for prospective students.

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Police and Campus Crime Statistics Act requires “all institutions of higher education … that participate in the federal student financial aid program to disclose information about crime on their campuses and in the surrounding communities,” according to the Division of Public Safety. 

The original form of the act was enacted in 1991. UIPD created a new position within its department, a compliance coordinator, to facilitate compliance with the policy. Jennifer Payan, who has worked in the Division of Public Safety for the past 20 years, has served in the position since March 4.

“We have a responsibility to our community to report certain crimes and certain ongoing threats that occur within our geographical location,” she said.

One of the requirements of the Clery Act is for the University to publish an annual security report that includes statistics about the 14 crimes defined by the act. The report includes crimes in the campus area investigated by UIPD, as well as the Champaign and Urbana police departments. The act also requires UIPD to issue alerts about Clery crimes that present a threat to campus communities, and to issue emergency notifications about significant emergency or dangerous situations.

The University does so with Illini Alerts, which represent immediate threats, and Crime Alerts. Payan considers Crime Alerts to be timely warnings. They are more detailed than Illini Alerts, which must be released within 45 minutes of the crime occurring.

The crimes reported in the annual security report and in Crime and Illini Alerts are confined to a specific area, which was reduced from its original boundaries in 2011.

Another facet of the changes to compliance include training campus security authorities. They serve as contacts for students to report crimes. If CSAs hear about a crime, they are legally obligated to report it to the police department through the Clery reporting system.

One of the departments trained for Clery compliance is the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. Loren Israel, assistant athletic director of compliance for the DIA, coordinated with UIPD to train the legally required individuals, such as coaches, from his department on Clery compliance.

Israel said the coaches and athletic directors are required by the Clery Act to be trained as CSAs, likely because of the relationship they have with students. He said abiding by the act demonstrates transparency on the part of the University.

“This is a University where we’re trying to do the right thing,” he said. “We’re trying to protect our students.”

Israel worked with Sgt. Joan Fiesta and Lt. Tony Brown, of UIPD, on the training. Israel said he plans on hosting his department’s next training session some time next month.

Fiesta said compliance with the act is beneficial to the police department in terms of recognizing trends in crimes that need to be addressed. She said it is also a source of information for people in the community.

“It creates an accountability for us to be as transparent as possible so that people can make positive choices for their own safety,” Fiesta said. “If people understand the nature of crime in their area, they can utilize the resources that are available to them.”

Sari can be reached at [email protected] and @Sari_Lesk.