Responsible Unit: University Police
Effective: December 21, 2020
Revision History: Formerly WVU-PD-1, Campus Crime Prevention and Resources
Security Policy, which had an effective date of September 10, 1998; updated June
1, 2016.
Review Date: January 2026
Section 1: Purpose and Scope
1.1 West Virginia University shall apply reasonable measures to reduce the risk of crime on campus. The University Police Department (“UPD”) shall serve as a support unit to the University community for the purpose of carrying out the law enforcement responsibilities on campus. This Policy recognizes that the safety and security of the public and property on campus depends in large part upon the efforts of the faculty, staff, and students in the various diverse units who must be aware of safety and security policies and abide by them in their areas.
1.2 In accordance with WVU BOG Finance and Administration Rule 5.3 - Emergency Management and Campus Safety, UPD must “collect, maintain, and report statistics and other data as required by law.” Similarly, W. Va. Code §18B-4-5a also requires the University publish certain statistics and notify the University community of certain alleged crimes that have occurred in certain geographic locations. The purpose of this Policy is to accomplish those mandates and also set forth how the University will fulfill its obligations under the “Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998,” (commonly referred to as the “Clery Act”).
Section 2: Definitions
2.1 Campus Security Authority (CSA) means (1) the University Police Department; (2) individuals who have responsibility for campus security, but who are not the University Police Department, (3) individuals or organizations specified in the University’s statement of campus security policy as an individual or organization to which students and employees should report criminal offenses; and (4) an official of an institution who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities. The University will create a list of these individuals, train them, and publish the list regularly in the Annual Security Report.
2.2 Clery Reportable Crimes: Crimes required by the Clery Act to be reported annually to the University community, including: criminal homicide (murder and negligent/non-negligent manslaughter); sex offenses (rape, fondling, statutory rape, and incest); robbery; aggravated assault; burglary; motor vehicle theft; arson; hate crimes (including larceny-theft, simple assault, intimidation, or destruction/damage/vandalism of property that are motivated by bias); dating violence; domestic violence; stalking; and arrests and referrals for disciplinary action for any of the following: (a) liquor law violations, (b) drug law violations, and (c) carrying or possessing illegal weapons.
2.3 Clery Geography: The campus geographic areas, as defined by the Clery Act, for which Clery-Reportable Crimes are required to be reported. The geographic categories include:
2.3.1 On-Campus locations means buildings or property owned or controlled by the University within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area and used by the University in direct support to, or in a manner related to, the University’s educational purpose, including on-campus student housing;
2.3.2 Public Property within the campus, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus; and
2.3.3 Noncampus Property means (a) building or property owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by the University; or (b) any building or property owned or controlled by the University that is used in direct support of, or in relation to, the University’s educational purposes, is frequently
Section 3: Clery Act
3.1 In order to effectuate campus safety, capture accurate and timely reports of the crimes listed below in 3.2.1, and provide Clery Act compliance oversight, the University will have an interdisciplinary team for the University’s Clery Compliance Response & Implementation Management Effort.
3.2 Further, the University will take the following steps to implement the Clery Act:
3.2.1 Collecting crime statistics: WVU will collect statistics about reports of Clery Reportable Crimes which have occurred in Clery Geography, and in order to do that, all crimes and other emergencies affecting the safety or security of students, employees, or visitors on campus shall be reported to UPD in a timely manner by CSAs.
3.2.1.1 The following crimes will be reported: Criminal Homicide (Murder & Non-Negligent Manslaughter, Negligent Manslaughter); Sex Offenses (Rape, Fondling, Statutory Rape, Incest); Robbery; Aggravated Assault; Burglary; Motor Vehicle Theft; Arson; Domestic Violence; Dating Violence; Stalking.
3.2.1.2 Additionally, the following statistics will be gathered if an arrest is made or, if not, it was referred for disciplinary action: Liquor Law Violations; Drug Law Violations; Carrying or Possessing Illegal Weapons.
3.2.1.3 If a crime is classified as a Hate Crime, the following crimes must also be included and collected as statistics: Larceny/Theft; Simple Assault; Intimidation; Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property.
3.2.2 Publishing and distributing an Annual Security Report (ASR): For each separate campus, WVU will publish an ASR on an annual basis no later than October 1 (or whenever required by law) each year. The ASR will disclose, by location, the crime and referral data collected for the three most recent calendar years, as well as the requisite policy statements. WVU will distribute the ASR to current students and employees via a notice that includes a statement of the report’s availability, the exact electronic address at which the report is posted, a brief description of the report’s contents, and a statement that the campus will provide a paper copy of the report upon request. WVU will also notify prospective students and employees about the availability of the ASR.
3.2.3 Submitting crime statistics to the Department of Education: Each year, WVU will submit its crime statistics to the Department’s Office of Postsecondary Education database.
3.2.4 Issuing timely warnings and emergency notifications: WVU will issue timely warnings regarding the occurrence of Clery Reportable crimes that are considered by the institution to represent a serious or ongoing threat to students and employees. Additionally, it will issue emergency notifications upon on confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation occurring on campus that involves an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees. Both timely warnings and emergency notifications will be issued in accordance with WVU-PD-1-B, Emergency notifications (WVU Alerts), Timely Warnings (Campus Warnings), and WVU Community Notices.
3.2.5 Maintaining a crime log: WVU will maintain a daily crime log that records all crimes reported to campus police that occur within its Clery Geography and/or within UPD’s patrol jurisdiction;
3.2.5.1 Under W. Va. Code §18B-4-5a, the information required to be made available to the public regarding the crime report shall be available within ten days of the report, unless such information must be withheld on the basis of investigative need until an arrest has been made in connection with the crime report.
3.2.5.2 The information shall include the date the crime was reported, the date and time the crime occurred, the nature of the crime, the general location of the crime (such as a designation of a specific building or area of the campus), and the disposition of the complaint, if known.
3.2.6 Missing students residing on-campus: WVU will implement missing student notification policies and procedures for students residing on-campus in accordance with WVU-PD-1-C, Missing On-Campus Students.
3.2.7 Publishing and distributing an AFSR and maintaining a fire log: WVU will publish the Annual Fire Safety Report, which will disclose, by location, every reported fire in an on-campus student housing facility, as well as requisite policy statements. WVU will also maintain daily fire logs recording all fires reported within an on-campus student housing facility. WVU will distribute the AFSR to current students and employees via a notice that includes a statement of the report’s availability, the exact electronic address at which the report is posted, a brief description of the report’s contents, and a statement that the campus will provide a paper copy of the report upon request. WVU will also notify prospective students and employees about the availability of the AFSR.
3.2.8 Providing education programs and campaigns: WVU will continue to promote the awareness of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking by providing primary prevention and awareness programs to all incoming students and new employees; and providing ongoing prevention and awareness campaigns for students and employees.
3.2.9 Maintaining Procedures for Institutional Action for Violence Against Women Act offenses : WVU will have (and disclose in its ASR) procedures the University will follow once an incident of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking has been reported to it.
Section 4: Campus Crime Prevention and Resource Security
4.1 Each Dean, Director, Chair, or major administrator, in cooperation with the individual building supervisor, shall develop a building emergency/security plan including applicable procedures for his/her responsible areas. Each plan should analyze areas of responsibility and personal security, key control, access to the building facilities, emergency situations and any other issue that would compromise the personal safety of employees and/or security of the building and its resources. It is the responsibility of all faculty, staff, students, administrators, and visitors to adhere to policies designed to protect the resources, both human resources and material assets, of the University.
Section 5: Superseding Provisions
5.1 This Policy supersedes and replaces any other WVU policy or procedure which relates to the subject matter contained within this Rule.