Clery Act Crime Definitions

Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter is the willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another.  This offense includes any death caused by injuries received in a fight, argument, quarrel, assault, or the commission of a crime.  This offense does NOT include traffic fatalities, suicides, accidental deaths, or justifiable homicide as defined by law. 

Manslaughter by negligence is the killing of another person through gross negligence. This offense includes any death caused by the gross negligence of another. This offense does NOT include death of persons due to their own negligence, accidental deaths not resulting from gross negligence, and traffic fatalities.

• Rape is the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus, with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim. This offense includes the rape of both males and females.
  
  
• Fondling is the touching of the private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
  
  
• Statutory Rape is sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.  If force was used or threatened, or if the victim was incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or temporary or permanent mental impairment, the offense is Rape, not Statutory Rape. In Pennsylvania, children less than 13 years old cannot grant consent to sexual activity. Teens between the ages of 13 and 15 cannot consent to sexual activity with anyone who is four or more years older than them.  People ages 16 and older can legally consent to sexual activity, so long as the other person does not have authority over them as defined in Pennsylvania’s institutional sexual assault statute. 
  
  
• Incest is sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.

A Hate Crime is criminal offense that manifests evidence that the victim was intentionally selected because of the perpetrator’s bias against the victim.  

Hate Crimes Bias Categories

Under the Clery Act, the possible bias categories are Race, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Gender, Gender Identity, Ethnicity, National Origin, Disability.

• Race: A preformed negative attitude toward a group of persons who possess common physical characteristics (e.g. color of skin, eyes, and/or hair; facial features, etc.), genetically transmitted by descent and heredity which distinguish them as a distinct division of humankind.
• Religion: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons who share the same religious beliefs regarding the origin and purpose of the universe and the existence or nonexistence of a supreme being.
• Sexual Orientation: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation. Sexual Orientation is the term for a person’s physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction to members of the same and/or opposite sex.
• Gender: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based on their actual or perceived gender.
• Gender Identity: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based on their actual or perceived gender identity (e.g. bias against transgender or gender non-conforming individuals).
• Ethnicity: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, common culture and/or ideology that stresses common ancestry. The concept of ethnicity differs from the closely related term “race” in that “race” refers to grouping based mostly upon biological criteria, while “ethnicity” also encompasses additional cultural factors.
• National Origin: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of people based on their actual or perceived country of birth.
• Disability: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their physical or mental impairments, whether such disability is temporary or permanent, congenital or acquired by heredity, accident, injury, advanced age or illness.

Hate Crimes – Offenses

For Clery purposes, Hate Crimes include any of the following offenses that are motivated by bias:

• Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter, Sexual Assault (Sex Offenses), Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Motor Vehicle Theft, Arson, Larceny-Theft, Simple Assault, Intimidation, Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property.
• Larceny (Theft), Simple Assault, Intimidation, and Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property are included in Clery Act statistics only if it is committed as a hate crime (motivated by the perpetrator’s bias against the victim on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, and/or disability).
  • Larceny (Theft) is the unlawful taking, carrying, leading or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another.  Constructive possession is the condition in which a person does not have physical custody or possession but is in a position to exercise dominion or control over a thing. 
  • Simple Assault is the unlawful physical attack by one person upon another where neither the offender displays a weapon, nor the victim suffers obvious severe or aggravated bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possible internal injury, severe laceration, or loss of consciousness.
  • Intimidation is to unlawfully place another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words and/or other conduct, but without displaying a weapon or subjecting the victim to actual physical attack.  This includes cyber-intimidation if the victim is threatened via electronic means while on campus, on public property immediately adjacent to campus, or on campus owned, leased, or controlled space that is not on campus.
  • Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property is to willfully or maliciously destroy, damage, deface, or otherwise injure real or personal property without the consent of the owner or the person having custody or control of it.

Dating Violence

Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim.  The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the reporting party’s statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.

• Dating Violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse.
• Dating Violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence.

Domestic Violence

A felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed by:

• a current or former spouse of intimate partner of the victim;
• a person with whom the victim shares a child in common;
• a person who is cohabiting with, or has cohabited with, the victim as a spouse or intimate partner;
• a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred;
• any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred.

Stalking

Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others; or suffer substantial emotional distress.

• Course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a person’s property.
• Reasonable person means a reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar identities to the victim.
• Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or professional treatment or counseling.

Under the Clery Act, institutions must report arrests and referrals for disciplinary action for liquor law violations, drug law violations, and illegal weapons possession.

• Arrest: Persons processed by arrest, citation or summons.
• Referred for disciplinary action: The referral of any person to any official who initiates a disciplinary action of which a record is established, and which may result in the imposition of a sanction. This includes only alleged violations of law, not violations of your institution’s policies.

Liquor Law Violations

Liquor Law Violations are defined as the violation of state or local laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession or use of alcoholic beverages, not including driving under the influence and drunkenness.  This offense does include, amongst other violations, underage possession, furnishing liquor to a minor or intemperate person, using a vehicle for illegal transportation of liquor, and any attempts to commit these offenses.

Drug Law Violations

Drug Law Violations are defined as the violation of laws prohibiting the production, distribution and/or use of certain controlled substances and the equipment or devices utilized in their preparation and/or use.  The unlawful cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, purchase, use, possession, transportation or importation of any controlled drug or narcotic substance.  Arrests for violations of state and local laws, specifically those relating to the unlawful possession, sale, use, growing, manufacturing and making of narcotic drugs.  This offense includes illegally obtaining prescription drugs; however, it does NOT include use of legally obtained personal prescription drugs used by the owner in a manner that is not consistent with the instructions provided by the prescribing physician.

Weapon Law Violations

Weapon Law Violations are defined as the violation of laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, concealment, or use of firearms, cutting instruments, explosives, incendiary devices or other deadly weapons.  This classification encompasses weapons offenses that are regulatory in nature.  

• Signed into law on December 24, 2024 (and then effective January 1, 2025), institutions of higher education must disclose incidents of hazing under the Clery Act.
• Hazing refers to any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a person (whether individually or in concert with other persons), against another person or persons regardless of the willingness of such other person or persons to participate that (1) is committed in the course of an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, a student organization; and (2) causes or creates a risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the institution of higher education or the organization (such as the physical preparation necessary for participation in an athletic team), of physical or psychological injury including - physical abuse, sleep deprivation, substance ingestion (food, liquid, drugs, etc.), sexual violence, intimidation, and criminal conduct.