Jeanne Clery
By Rosemary Peters, Editor-in-Chief -- peters12@up.edu
The "Clery Act" is named in memory of 19-year-old Lehigh University freshman, Jeanne Ann Clery, who was raped and murdered while asleep in her residence hall room on April 5, 1986.
How was it enacted? Clery's parents discovered students hadn't been told about 38 violent crimes on their daughter's campus in the three years before her murder. They persuaded Congress to enact the "Clery Act."
What is its purpose? The Clery Act requires all colleges and universities that receive federal aid to keep and disclose information about crime on and near campus.
Who keeps track of the reported crimes? Compliance is monitored by the United States Department of Education, which can charge up to $27,500 per violation against institutions for each infraction.
What do the experts say? "The point of the Clery Act is to provide information about crime statistics to students and the family members of students," Steve Beedle, supervisor of the Portland Police Bureau's Statistical Analysis Unit, said. "The school has to keep the records themselves or get them through some other source."
