The 2010 Clery Act Scorecard For Southern Methodist University

Clery ACTforSCoreCArd
SouThern MeThodiST univerSiTy

Do campus police keep a daily crime log that is timely (a crime must be listed within two business days of it being reported)? Is the crime log available for public viewing? Is the crime log easily accessible? For each crime in the crime log, does it list: a) Nature of the crime? b) Date of the crime? c) Time of the crime? d) General location of the crime? e) Disposition of the crime (if known)? f) Is the language in a form that can be easily understood? Do campus police issue an annual statistics report, with information going back three calendar years and covering all required crimes, and breakouts of liquor law violations, drug law violations and illegal weapons violations? Does the school produce a separate annual report each year for each separate campus? Is the annual report available for public viewing? Yes. Crimes are listed by day and in a timely manner. They can be found on the SMU PD website: http://smu.edu/pd/ Yes. Monthly crime logs are available on the SMU PD website. Yes. A link is provided on SMU PDs homepage. Anyone is free to access the log, which includes data from 2007 to the present. Yes. All of this information is listed under each date in an organized manner and in simple terms.
The 2010
Yes. Campus police issue an annual statistics report every year by Oct. 1 that contains three years of crime data. The 2010 Clery Report features data from 2008, 2009 and 2010, and covers all required crimes, including all liquor, drug or weapons law violations resulting in an arrest. Yes. SMU releases a comprehensive report with information about all three campuses. Yes. The report is available for download on the SMU PD website. Yes. The report is accessible from the SMU PD website, linked on the Current Students tab on the SMU homepage.
Page 1
Is this report easily accessible?
Yes. Does the school comply with expanded reporting of hate crimes to include larcenytheft, simple assault, intimidation, and vandalism? If the school uses a map to depict areas for which crime is reported (optional), is it accurate? Does the university issue timely reports and emergency notifications?
The 2010
SMU does not map crimes, but police say they are open to doing so in the future. Yes. Crime alerts are posted when a general threat to campus safety is identified. The campus has an emergency notification system in place. Yes. The school distributes reports via email and flyers usually within 24 hours of an incident. Yes. When a sexual assault occurs, a crime alert with a description of the suspect is issued. The alerts also contain basic safety tips. Yes. The 2010 Clery Report describes the universitys policy on how it will respond to emergency/disaster situations, as well as who is responsible for issuing warnings, various ways in which notifications will be communicated, and when alerts will take place. Yes. SMU utilizes multiple notification methods, including office and cell phone calls, public address systems, sirens, text messages, emails, radios, the universitys website, Twitter, Facebook and local media.
Page 2
Does the school actively issue timely reports? Do the timely reports contain information that would help students and staff to protect themselves (e.g. descriptions of a serial rapist)? Does the university have a policy on how it will implement its emergency response and campus evacuation procedures, including who is responsible for issuing a notification, when a notification would occur, and how that notification would occur? Is this listed in the schools annual security report? Does the emergency notification system have multiple methods of alerting students and staff?
Does the university test the emergency notification system annually? Yes. The full emergency notification system is tested annually. Sirens are tested the first Wednesday of each month in compliance with federal guidelines.
The 2010
Does the school provide a statement of the law enforcement authority of campus security (for instance, whether they are a police force, with sworn, state-certified peace officers and arrest powers, or a security department, with no arrest or prosecutorial authority)? Are there any written agreements between university police and any other institution of law enforcement on the investigation of alleged crimes, and does the statement of law enforcement authority disclose those? Does the school have a statement of policy regarding campus sexual assault program to prevent sex offenses, and procedures to follow when a sex offense occurs, and does that statement: a) describe educational programs to promote the awareness forcible and non-forcible sex offenses; b) list procedures students should follow if a sex offense occurs, including who should be contacted and the importance of preserving evidence; c) include notice of counseling, mental health or other student services for victims of sex offenses; d) include notice that the school will change the victims academic and living situations if changes are requested and are reasonably available?
Page 3
Yes. The SMU Police Department is a fully empowered law enforcement agency certified by the state of Texas. Officers are state-commissioned peace officers with full police authority, duties and responsibilities. In addition, the University Park Police Department holds concurrent jurisdiction on campus. The Highland Park and Dallas Police Departments also provide assistance when requested.
Yes. The report clearly states the universitys sexual assault policy and includes a list of educational programs that promote sexual assault awareness. It also provides detailed procedures students should follow if a sex offense occurs and guidelines for assistance if a student has been sexually assaulted, including who should be contacted, the importance of preserving evidence and how to obtain counseling. The report also states victims will have the opportunity at a hearing to request changes in living arrangements if he or she lives in close proximity to the accused.
Does the school clearly explain the whistleblower and anti-retaliation protections that were added to the Act in 2008? Does the school describe procedures that encourage pastoral and professional mental health counselors to refer persons they are counseling to report crimes on a voluntary, confidential basis for inclusion in the annual crime statistics? Yes. SMU added a policy statement about these protections in 2010 after failing to do so in 2009. Yes. While SMU says it is sensitive to the confidential nature of such information, the school encourages pastoral and mental health counselors to report statistics. No. SMU has never been fined by the Department of Education for Clery Act non-compliance. The agency audited the school during the summer of 2011 and deemed SMU to be a model for other universities to follow, according to campus police.
The 2010
Has the school been fined by the Dept. of Education for not complying with the Clery Act in recent years?
No.
Page 4

The 2010 Clery Act Scorecard For Southern Methodist University

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The 2010 Clery Act Scorecard For Southern Methodist University

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Clery ACTforSCoreCArd

SouThern MeThodiST univerSiTy

Is this report easily accessible?

You might also like