Policy on Clery Act

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Policy Category: Executive

Effective Date: 11/8/2023

Responsible Officer: Clery Compliance Coordinator

History: New Policy

Responsible Office: Wentworth Police Department

Location: Link

Purpose

This policy is intended to provide guidance to all members of the Wentworth Institute of Technology (university) community regarding the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the “Clery Act”).

Scope/Applicability

This policy applies to all members of the University community and provides information to University visitors, prospective students and prospective employees.

Legal

Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Polic and Campus Crime Statistics Act

Policy

Wentworth Institute of Technology is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for all members of the University community and visitors. The University adopts this policy to facilitate full compliance with the Clery Act.

Definitions

Campus Security Authority (CSA)

  1. Members of the Wentworth Institute of Technology Police Department (WITPD); 
  2. Any individual responsible for security who is not a member of WITPD (for example, individuals responsible for monitoring entrances to buildings or specified areas are responsible for security); 
  3. A University official who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities, including, but not limited to, student housing, student discipline and campus judicial proceedings, coaches and coaching staff, and advisors to recognized student organizations; and 
  4. Other individuals designated as mandated reporters and Authorized Adults  

Clery Act Crimes

 Information about any incident that may constitute the following crimes must be reported by Campus Security Authorities to the Wentworth Police Department and the University is required to maintain statistics of these crimes for its Annual Security Report: 

Criminal Offenses (Also called “Primary Clery Crimes”) 

  1. Murder/Non-negligent Manslaughter 
  2. Manslaughter By Negligence 
  3. Rape 
  4. Fondling 
  5. Incest 
  6. Statutory Rape 
  7. Aggravated Assault 
  8. Burglary 
  9. Motor Vehicle Theft 
  10. Arson 

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Offenses 

  1. Domestic Violence 
  2. Dating Violence 
  3. Stalking 

Hate Crimes 

In addition to the offenses listed above, where a victim is intentionally selected because of their actual or perceived race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, or disability, the following crimes shall be reported as Hate Crimes according to the category of prejudice evidenced: 

  1. Simple Assault 
  2. Larceny-Theft 
  3. Intimidation 
  4. Vandalism 

State and Local Ordinance Violations

 Violations of state, local, or federal weapons, drug, or liquor laws. Note that violations of weapons, drug, and liquor laws are only reported in the Annual Security Report if an arrest was made or if the matter was referred for campus conduct proceedings. 

University Property 

  • On Campus Property – Any building or property owned or controlled by an institution within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area and used by the institution in direct support of, or in a manner related to, the institution’s educational purposes, including residence halls; and any building or property that is within or reasonably contiguous to such buildings or property that is owned by the institution but controlled by another person and is frequently used by students and supports institutional purposes. 
    • Subset of On Campus Property – Student Housing Facilities: Any student housing facility that is owned or controlled by the institution, or is located on property that is owned or controlled by the institution, and is within the reasonably contiguous geographic area that makes up the campus. 
  • Non-Campus Property - Any building or property owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by the institution; or any building or property owned or controlled by an institution that is used in direct support of, or in relation to the institution's educational purposes, is frequently used by students, and is not within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area of the institution. 
  • Public Property - All thoroughfares, streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities that are within the campus, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus. 

Procedure(s)

The University encourages all members of the University community to report suspicious or criminal activity to Wentworth Police as soon as possible. Crimes may be reported to Wentworth Police by calling (617) 989-4400 or (617) 989-4444.  

In addition, certain employees, known as Campus Security Authorities, Mandated Reporters, or Authorized Adults, have a legal obligation to file a report of suspected criminal activity with Wentworth Police Department to ensure statistical inclusion of all crimes specified by the Clery Act in the University’s Annual Security Report when those crimes occur on or near University Property.

To promote safety and security at the University and in compliance with the Clery Act, the University does the following:

  • Submits crime statistics to the United States Department of Education. Each year, the University submits crime statistics for Clery Act crimes by type, location and year to the U.S. Department of Education. 
  • Compiles and submits fire statistics to the United States Department of Education. The University maintains a Daily Fire Log that is open to public inspection and generates an Annual Fire Report to the U.S. Department of Education containing fire safety policy statements and statistics to comply with this requirement. 
  • Maintains and enforces a missing student policy and notification procedure. 
  • Publishes and maintains an Annual Security Report containing safety- and security- related policy statements and statistics of Clery Act crimes occurring on university property, adjacent property, and non-University property owned or controlled by the University. To prepare the Annual Security Report, the University collects, classifies and counts crime reports and crime statistics. The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report at the University is distributed annually to all students and employees of the University and is available to prospective employees through the Office of Human Resources and to prospective students through the Office of Admissions. A hard copy of the Annual Security Report may be obtained through Wentworth Police at (617) 989-4400. 
  • Issues emergency notifications. The University issues an Emergency Notification upon the confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on the campus. 
  • Issues campus alerts. The University issues a timely warning to the University community when there is information that a Clery crime has occurred that represents a serious or ongoing threat to campus safety. 
  • Maintains a daily crime log of alleged criminal incidents that is open to public inspection, upon request. 

Additional Information & Related Documents

Interpretation & Revision

Any questions of interpretation regarding this policy shall be referred to the Clery Compliance Coordinator. They will be the final authority regarding the interpretation of this Policy. 

This policy shall be reviewed every three years, however minor changes and updates can be made at any time.  

Wentworth will typically apply the policy in place at the time it receives a report concerning the respected policy. 

Additionally, in instances where two or more policies are implicated, a case-by-case determination will be made to determine what policy will be used. 

Review and Revision History 

This policy was drafted by representatives from Wentworth Police Department, Student Affairs, and Human Resources. It was reviewed by Cabinet and approved by the President on 11/8/23. 

This is a new policy.