Campus Security Authority
Crimes in progress should be reported immediately to the police by dialing 911
What is a Campus Security Authority?
Campus Security Authority (CSA) is a Clery Act specific term. CSAs provide crime statistics for the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. The Clery Act describes a crime as "reported" when it is brought to the attention of a CSA by a victim, witness, or third party, including the offender. Alleged crimes reported to CSAs are then reported by CSAs to the designated individual or office required to collect such reports. The office designated at the University of Kansas is the KU Police Department or the Office of Civil Rights & Title IX. CSAs can file the required notice by documenting and submitting it on the CSA Reporting Form. If you need assistance or have questions, please contact Clery compliance personnel at cleryact@ku.edu.
Who is a CSA?
Because official responsibilities and job titles vary significantly across campuses and instructional sites, a comprehensive list of specific titles and positions is not provided in the Clery Act regulations. To determine specifically which individuals or organizations are CSAs, we consider the function of that individual or organization.
Individuals may be designated as CSAs based on whether they perform the following functions:
Their official job responsibilities involve significant interaction with students and/or campus activities;
They serve as informal or unofficial mentors to students;
They serve as a member in an office or of a committee to whom students are instructed and informed to report or discuss crimes, allegations, of crimes, and other troubling situations; and/or
They have oversight for or involvement in disciplinary procedures.
University Police and Security – All security and police members of the University Department of Public Safety, including all sworn law enforcement officers, are Campus Security Authorities.
Individuals with Campus Security Responsibilities – Any individuals who have responsibility for campus security but who do not constitute a campus police department or a campus security department, such as an individual who is responsible for monitoring entrance into institutional property. Examples of this category are: parking enforcement staff, event security staff and front desk staff to buildings that monitor entrance.
Officials of the institution with significant responsibility for student and campus activities, including, but not limited to, student housing, student discipline and campus judicial proceedings. “Official” is defined as any person who has the authority and duty to take action and respond to particular issues on behalf of the institution.
Individuals Designated by the Campus – Any individual or organization specified in an institution's statement of campus security policy as one to which students and employees should report criminal offenses.
Examples of CSAs include, but are not limited to:
Campus Police or Security
Student Housing (including Resident Assistants)
Student Conduct
Director of Athletics
Athletic Coaches
Athletic Trainers
Student Organization Advisors
Title IX Coordinator
Study Abroad Coordinators
Human Resources
Victim Advocates
What are the Duties of a CSA?
CSAs are responsible for reporting all allegations of crimes that are reported to them. Upon receiving information about a crime, a CSA should document it by submitting a report using the CSA Reporting Form. A CSA is not responsible for determining authoritatively whether the crime took place; CSAs are also not responsible for attempting to apprehend an alleged perpetrator of a crime (unless trained to do so). If a victim doesn’t want the report to go any further than the CSA, the CSA should explain that they are required to submit the report for statistical purposes and that it can be submitted without identifying the victim. However, CSAs may communicate that for future reports, crimes can be reported to the police anonymously.
What Information does a CSA need to Report?
Required
Provide CSA contact information such as name, phone number, and email address (We must document that a designated CSA is reporting the incident, and we may need to follow-up with the CSA if we need to clarify or ask for additional information.)
Provide the date the incident was reported to the CSA
Identify the campus or instructional site belonging to the reporter
Identify where the incident occurred: On-Campus; On-Campus Student Housing Facility; Non-Campus building or property; or Public Property
Identify the alleged crime (Note: The Clery Act requires that we document attempted crimes as well.)
Provide a brief description of the incident that includes summarizing the information above
Optional if Available
Date the incident occurred
Involved parties such as victim, witness, third party reporter, and suspect
Supporting documentation such as photo, video, email, text messages, etc.
CSAs are not required to provide personally identifying information of the person reporting the crime. However, CSA crime reports are encouraged to include personally identifying information, if available. This is important for law enforcement purposes and to avoid double-counting crimes.
Timely submission of reports by CSAs is very important. If a crime is reported to a CSA, but goes no farther than that, KU will be unable to fully meet its obligations under the law. Moreover, the campus community may lack information that could help them to stay safer.
CSAs must know their role and be trained in understanding the Clery Act, why they have been designated as a CSA, and what is required of them as CSAs. This training should occur at least annually or as often as necessary.