The University Police violated parts of the Clery Act in 2005, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Education.

When called on Tuesday afternoon, University Police chief Donald Grady declined to comment, stating he was not aware of any violations or of the 2005 letter that had been delivered to NIU president John Peters in regard to the violations. Peters and Eddie Williams, executive vice president of finance and facilities, were unavailable for comment.

NIU infractions

According to the 2005 report, NIU was cited for failing to accurately report arrests and referrals for campus disciplinary action for liquor law violations and for failure to properly maintain its daily crime log. A letter addressed to Peters from the U.S. Department of Education, dated Feb. 11, 2005, stated the Chicago School Participation Team performed a review of NIU’s compliance with the Clery Act. The review resulted from a complaint received in 2004 from Security on Campus, Inc. on behalf of a person at NIU in regard to the above mentioned infractions, the letter said.

Liquor Law violations

According to the letter, an April 20, 2004 complaint alleged NIU was not including arrests or referrals for campus disciplinary action for certain types of liquor law violations as part of the crime statistics included in its annual security report. The complaint specifically noted that persons cited by local police for allegedly violating city alcohol ordinances were not being reported in NIU’s annual crime statistics as arrests for liquor law violations.

The university’s response to the complaint stated NIU includes individuals who are arrested and those who are referred for campus disciplinary action due to alleged violations of state law related to liquor control, according to the letter.

The team concluded NIU was incorrect in its assertion that it is only required to report arrests for alleged violations of state law related to liquor control, and that under the Clery Act, institutions must report arrests for the violations of statutes issued by local governments, as well as those issued by states. Individuals cited by police for liquor law violations on campus, in or on a non-campus building or property, or on public property must be included in the arrest statistics of NIU’s annual security report, according to the team’s response in the letter.

Daily Crime Log violations

The same complaint alleged NIU was not consistently making entries into its daily crime log within two business days of the report of information to University Police. According to the letter, an institution is required to make an entry or an addition to an entry in its daily crime log within two business days of a report of the information to the campus police or to the campus security department, unless that disclosure is prohibited by law or would jeopardize the confidentiality of the victim.

According to the report, NIU stated it had difficulty maintaining an accurate and timely electronic daily crime log as a result of problems arising from technical issues and that it was working to correct those problems. The letter made it clear that NIU must update its blotter in accordance with federal regulatory requirements, regardless of whether the crime log is in hard copy or electronic format.

Aftermath

Kenneth Davidson, associate vice president and general counsel for University Legal Services, acknowledged through NIU Public Affairs that the letter had been delivered and the university would comment on the matter at a later date, as a number of NIU officials are currently out of state on business matters.

According to language in the Clery Act, violators can be fined up to $27,500 by the U.S. Department of Education, or face other enforcement action.

Whether or not action will be taken against NIU for the violations is yet to be determined, and a decision will be made upon the university’s next scheduled non-federal audit, according to the report.