The Clery Act requires colleges and universities to disclose statistics annually for crimes reported to local law enforcement agencies and crimes reported to Campus Security Authorities (CSAs).  The Cornell University Clery Compliance Office is responsible for the annual collection of Clery Act crime statistics, and for reporting such information directly to the U.S. Department of Education and to the Cornell University community in Campus Watch, the Clery Act-mandated Annual Security Report.

The Clery Act defines Campus Security Authorities as:

• A campus police department or a campus security department of an institution.
  • At Cornell University Ithaca campus, this is Cornell University Police.
• Any individual(s) who have responsibility for campus security but who do not constitute a campus police department or security department.
• Any individual or organization specified in the institution’s statement of campus security policy as an individual or organization to which students and employees should report criminal offenses.
• An official of the institution who has significant responsibility for student or campus activities including but not limited to student housing, student discipline, and campus judicial proceedings.

 Duties and Responsibilities of a Campus Security Authority

• CSAs must immediately report all allegations of Clery crimes that occurred on the university’s Clery geography made to them in good faith by contacting the Cornell Police at 607-255-1111. Non-emergency incidents may be reported through the appropriate online reporting form: https://cornell.guardianconduct.com/incident-reporting
• Reports are statistical only and do not include the name of the victim.
• CSA reports are used to compile Clery Act crime statistics and to help determine if there is a serious or continuing threat to the safety of the campus community that may require a timely warning.

When is a crime considered to be reported?

• When it is brought to the attention of a CSA by the victim, a witness, the offender, or any other third party.
• It does not matter if the people involved in the alleged crime are affiliated with Cornell. All Clery Act crimes that have occurred on the university’s Clery Geography and have been brought to the attention of a CSA must be reported.
• It does not matter when the crime occurred. Once it is brought to the attention of a CSA, the CSA must report it to the university.

What are CSAs NOT responsible for?

• CSAs are not investigators and are not responsible for determining whether an alleged crime took place – that is the function of law enforcement personnel.
• CSAs should not try to apprehend the alleged perpetrator of a crime – that is the function of law enforcement personnel.
• CSAs should not try to convince a victim to contact law enforcement if the victim chooses not to do so.
• CSAs should not try to force anyone to disclose more information than he or she is willing to offer.