Campus Safety Report
Consulting Report Reveals Unofficial Noncompliance of Federal Statute
Jim Brady
Issue date: 3/11/10 Section: Campus News
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According to the consulting report put together by Mr. King, "the Community College of Rhode Island retained Summit Consulting to obtain an independent assessment of the campus police department and its related practices and procedures."
The report initially "confirmed the suspicions of the administration that, notwithstanding the good work of the acting chief and personnel, the department is in need of a substantial overhaul to improve operational functionality and enhance the public safety services it provides to the college community."
Initial impressions also revealed that members of the college community were "complimentary of the Acting Chief [Richard Robinson] and of various members of the CCRI Police Department." College members recognized many officers as colleagues they have known for many years, feeling quite comfortable with them.
The college, at the time of Mr. King's report, was without a required "Timely Warnings policy and procedure to alert the campus community of any Clery Act crimes that are reported to" campus security and local police, as well as an office or person responsible for issuing said timely warnings. Methods of disseminating these warnings were also nonexistent.
Also, the college must publish an annual report outlining criminal statistics for the past three years, as well as security procedures carried out by the school.
After interviewing with over 35 representatives of the college community, including members of the CCRI Police Department, CCRI administration, executives from local police departments, members of the student body, and a state law enforcement training academy representative, Mr. King's initial impression was reported, stating, among other things, that the school has been in violation of the Clery Act for an unspecified amount of years.
"CCRI does not appear to be in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. In fact, it is possible that the college may have been out of compliance in previous years as well."
Mr. King continued with some comments regarding his time spent researching college adherence to these policies by mentioning that "During interviews with CCRI community members and local law enforcement authorities, it became clear that the college is not currently in compliance with the Clery Act, and it is conceivable that is has not been for several years."
Furthermore, interviews conducted with CCRI community members revealed that there is no office that bears "specific responsibility for ensuring compliance with the Clery Act." Violation of this federal statute could result in a maximum fine of 27,500 dollars per offense.
This has brought great concern amongst many students and faculty, especially after last spring's attempted sexual assault on a female student at the Flanagan Campus. The assault was communicated to students nearly one week after the occurrence took place.
The Summit report goes on to state that "Failure to comply with this federal law carries significant fines for violations of the Act. Furthermore, failure to comply with the Clery Act undermines the intent of this important consumer information resource for the students and employees."
The document went on to mention that any finding of non-compliance by the United States Department of Education would adversely affect the public relations image of the college.
CCRI has been lacking in its compliance with the Clery Act by providing annual security reports for the Knight Campus, but not for other campuses.
Along with that violation, the school has also violated the section in the statute that requires several methods of timely warning of emergencies handled by an individual or office.
Only a handful of colleges and universities nationwide have ever been found guilty of and fined for violating the Clery Act.
Shortly after receiving Mr. King's report, the college began using the RAVE Emergency Service. This service is intended to inform students, faculty, and staff about threats on campus, school closures, and any other information relevant to campus hazards and awareness.
According to an opinion piece printed in last month's issue of the Unfiltered Lens, it seems that many students are still oblivious to the fact that the school even offers this emergency service.
A repeating theme in the Summit report is one of timeliness. Earlier this winter, when the lack luster snow storm was announced, a class cancellation message was dispersed at around 6 a.m., whereas the University of Rhode Island, another state college, had cancelled classes at approximately 11 p.m. the night before.
Alerts about life-threating incidents on campus, sooner than a week after they occur, could be communicated in this timely way as well.
The report submitted by Summit Consulting also discussed a compilation of recommendations, as well as criticism, both positive and negative, regarding planning and preparedness, policing the college campus, management performance, policies and procedures, organization of staff, and overall leadership.
A full portable document file (.pdf) of the Summit Consulting report is available for download at our website www.TheUnfilteredLens.org
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