Clery Compliance

WesternU is required by law to publish an Annual Security and Fire Safety Report each year before October 1. These reports includes statistics for WesternU’s campuses (California and Oregon) for the previous three years concerning certain categories of reported crimes that occurred on campus, in other property owned or controlled by WesternU, and on public property immediately adjacent to and accessible from each campus.

The fire safety portion of these reports include statistics for the previous three years concerning reported instances of fire in residence halls, the number of evacuation drills performed, and information about fire detection & suppression systems in each residence hall.

In addition, these reports give information about services provided by Campus Security, emergency preparedness and procedures, and institutional policies concerning crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, missing resident students, emergency notifications, alcohol and drug use, and policies and procedures on sexual assault, domestic and dating violence and stalking.

2023 Annual Security Report – WesternU Pomona Campus

2023 Annual Security Report – WesternU COMP-NW Campus

2023 Annual Security Report – WesternU CHS-NW Campus

Definitions

• On Campus
  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 paragraph (1) of this definition, that is owned by the institution but controlled by another person, is frequently used by students, and supports institutional purposes (such as a food or other retail vendor).
• On Campus Housing
  A 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.
• Public Property
  All public property, including thoroughfares, streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities, that is within the campus, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus (Includes Centennial Park).
• Non-campus buildings or 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.
  –   Property Frequently Used by Students
  –   Short-stay “away” trips – University sponsored trips of more than one night for student travel. Include information about lodging and any classroom (other) space sponsored by the university.
  –   Repeated Use – University sponsored travel that occurs more than once in any 365 day period. Example — student group travels to Oregon every semester and stays at the same hotel each time.

Criminal Offenses

• Murder or Non negligent manslaughter: The willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another.
• Manslaughter by Negligence: The killing of another person through gross negligence.
• Sexual Assault: An offense that meets the definition of rape, fondling, incest, or statutory rape as used in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Per the National Incident-Based Reporting System User Manual from the FBI UCR Program, A sex offense is “any sexual act directed against another person, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent.”
• Rape: 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.
• Fondling: 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 incapacity.
• Statutory Rape: Non-forcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.
• Incest: Non-forcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
• Robbery: The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.
• Aggravated assault: An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm. (It is not necessary that injury result from an aggravated assault when a gun, knife, or other weapon is used which could and probably would result in serious personal injury if the crime were successfully completed.)
• Burglary: The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. For reporting purposes this definition includes: unlawful entry with intent to commit a larceny or felony; breaking and entering with intent to commit a larceny; housebreaking; safecracking; and all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned.
• Motor vehicle theft: The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. (Classify as motor vehicle theft all cases where automobiles are taken by persons not having lawful access even though the vehicles are later abandoned—including joyriding.)
• Arson: Any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc.

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

• Sexual Assault: An offense that meets the definition of rape, fondling, incest, or statutory rape as used in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Per the National Incident-Based Reporting System User Manual from the FBI UCR Program, A sex offense is “any sexual act directed against another person, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent.” Refer to the definitions above for rape, fondling, incest, and statutory rape.
• Domestic Violence: A Felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed—
  • By a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim;
  • By a person with whom the victim shares a child in common;
  • By a person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabited with, the victim as a spouse or intimate partner;
  • By 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; or
  • By 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.
• 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 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.
  • For the purposes of this definition—
    • 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.
• 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.
  • For the purposes of this definition—
    • Course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts 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 other professional treatment or counseling.

Hate Crimes

Hate crimes include all of the criminal offenses with the addition of intimidation, vandalism, larceny, and simple assault. The additional crimes will only be counted in the Clery statistics if they are motivated by hate.

• Intimidation: 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.
• Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property: 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.
• Larceny-Theft: The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another. Attempted larcenies are included. Embezzlement, confidence games, forgery, worthless checks, etc., are excluded.
• Simple Assault: An 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.

Hate Crime Bias

A hate crime is a criminal offense committed against a person or property which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias. Bias is a preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons. Although there are many possible categories of bias, under Clery, only the following categories are reported:

• Disability: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their physical or mental impairments/challenges, whether such disability is temporary or permanent, congenital or acquired by heredity, accident, injury, advanced age or illness.
• Ethnicity: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons of the same race who share common or similar traits, languages, customs and traditions (e.g., Arabs, Hispanics).
• National origin: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons of the same country or area of birth.
• Gender: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons because those persons are male or female.
• Gender Identity: Bias based on gender is a preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons because of actual or perceived gender-related characteristics
• 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 (e.g., Asians, blacks, whites).
• 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 (e.g., Catholics, Jews, Protestants, atheists).
• Sexual orientation: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their sexual attraction toward, and responsiveness to, members of their own sex or members of the opposite sex (e.g., gays, lesbians, heterosexuals).

Arrests and Referrals for Disciplinary Action

The last category of crime statistics that must be disclosed is the number of arrests and the number of persons referred for disciplinary action for the following law violations: (1) Weapons: Carrying, Possessing, Etc.; (2) Drug Abuse Violations; and (3) Liquor Law Violations.

1. Weapons: Carrying, Possessing, Etc., is 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.
2. Drug Abuse 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.
3. 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.

Subject to the University’s obligations under the Clery Act, WesternU will immediately notify the campus community, through our Office of Campus Security, upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring in our Clery Geography (On Campus, Public Property and Non-Campus property). Emergency Notifications will be distributed as soon as pertinent information is available, in a manner that withholds the names of victims as confidential, and with the goal of aiding in the prevention of similar occurrences.

Individuals on campus should notify the Office of Campus Security of crimes as soon as possible.

The Office of Campus Security will gather all pertinent information about the nature of the crime from the reporting person and other available sources (these may include, but are not limited to: other witnesses, the University video camera system, the University card access system, and the local Police Department).

1. Based on the information available, the Director of Campus Security or his designee shall determine whether the crime presents a serious or continuing threat to the campus community. Emergency Notifications are typically issued for the following Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR)/National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) crime classifications:
   • Murder/Non-Negligent Manslaughter
   • Aggravated Assault (cases involving assaults among known parties, such as two roommates fighting which results in an aggravated injury, will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine if the individual is believed to be an ongoing threat to the larger WesternU community)
   • Robbery involving force or violence (cases including pickpocketing and purse snatching will typically not result in the issuance of a Crime Alert, but will be assessed on a case-by-case basis)
   • Sexual Assault (considered on a case-by-case basis depending on the facts of the case, when and where the incident occurred, when it was reported, and the amount information known by the Director of Campus Security, or designee). In cases involving sexual assault, they are often reported long after the incident occurred, thus there is no longer the opportunity to distribute an Emergency Notification as a “timely” warning notice to the community. All cases of sexual assault, including stranger and non-stranger/acquaintance cases, will be assessed for potential issuance of an Emergency Notification.
   • Major incidents of Arson
   • Emergency Notifications may be issued for other Clery crimes as determined necessary by the Director of Campus Security, or his designee in his absence. Notices for other crime classifications and locations, even though not required by the law, may be issued as Public Safety Advisories.
   • WesternU is not required to issue an Emergency Notification for crimes reported to pastoral and professional counselors because these reports may be made confidentially, however pastoral and professional counselors are encouraged to refer persons they are counseling to report crimes to Campus Security on a voluntary, confidential basis for the purpose of allowing an Emergency Notification to be distributed.
2. Based on the information available, the Director of Campus Security or his designee shall determine the content of the Emergency Notifications, the method by which to disseminate the warning to the campus community, and will issue/initiate the distribution of the Emergency Notification.
3. Emergency Notifications will typically be issued to current students and employees via email to all WesternU assigned email accounts. Emergency Notifications may also be issued using some or all of the following methods of communication: text messages, phone calls, and the main University website. The content of the Emergency Notification may include but is not limited to the nature of the crime, the area where the crime occurred, a description of the suspect(s), and safety tips. It is the responsibility of the Director of Campus Security or his designee to determine whether a crime presents a serious or continuing threat to the campus community and issue a Emergency Notification if necessary.

WesternU utilizes an emergency notification system to deliver messages to students and employees via text, email, and telephone. You may visit WesternU’s Student Portal, my.westernu.edu, and click on “Self Service,” then “Personal Information Services Menu” to review and/or update your addresses and phone number.