Commitment and Transparency
Western Washington University is committed to providing a safe campus environment for its students, employees, and visitors and ensuring access to accurate information about crimes committed on campus and campus security procedures. The U.S. Department of Education electronically publishes WWU data along with comparable information from other colleges and universities. A complete summary of Westerns crime statistics, safety related education programs, relevant policies, and victim resources can be found in the University’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.
Leadership
The Vice President for Student Affairs and the Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs are the responsible executive officers for the Clery Act. The vice presidents delegated the University Police Chief and the Executive Director of Student Life as the compliance owners responsible for managing and overseeing the Clery Act Program.
The University Clery Compliance Steering Committee was established and appointed by the Vice Presidents to assist in the design and implementation of the Program.
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act), as part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, is a federal law that requires colleges and universities to disclose certain timely and annual information about campus crime and security policies. All public and private institutions of postsecondary education participating in federal student-aid programs are subject to this requirement.
The Clery Act is named in memory of Jeanne Ann Clery, who was a Lehigh University freshman raped and murdered in 1986 while asleep in her residence hall room. Her parents later discovered that students hadn’t been told about 38 violent crimes on the Lehigh campus in the three years before her murder. They joined with other campus crime victims and persuaded Congress to enact this law, which was originally known as the “Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990.” A 1998 amendment formally named the law in memory of Jeanne Clery.
The Clery Act requires colleges and universities to:
- Publish an annual report disclosing a variety of campus security information, related educational programs, disciplinary processes, and three calendar years of specific campus crime statistics that occur within their Campus Geography.
- Submit annual crime statistics to the U.S. Department of Education.
- Issue timely warnings to students and employees about Clery Act crimes that pose a serious or ongoing threat.
- Maintain a daily crime log accessible to the public.
- Maintain a missing person reporting process for students living in University housing.
- Uphold basic rights for survivors of sexual assault.
The purpose of the daily crime log is to record criminal incidents and alleged criminal incidents that are reported to University Police (UPD) or Campus Security Authorities (CSA’s). A crime must be entered into the crime log within two business days of the reporting to UPD.
The daily crime log includes all reported crimes for a 60-day period, not just crimes required by the Clery Act to be reported in the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.
Click here to access the Daily Crime Log.
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report (ASFSR) is provided pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (“The Clery Act”). It includes statistics for the previous three calendar years concerning reported crimes that occurred within Western’s defined Clery Geography as well as the following information:
- Relevant policies and procedures
- Fire Safety Statistics
- Drug and Alcohol Prevention
- Safety Related Education Programs
- Victim Support Resources
A copy of this report can be requested in alternate formats by contacting the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.
Click here to access the current ASFSR
Campus Security Authorities
To ensure accurate Clery crime statistics for the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, various positions throughout the University are designated and trained as Campus Security Authorities to identify and report Clery crimes that occur within Western’s Clery Geography.
