Campus Security Policies and Campus Crime Statistics
The information contained in this disclosure document is provided by Jefferson State Community College in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act, Public Law 101-542, as amended by the Higher Education Technical Amendments Public Law 102-26 and the Campus Sexual Assault Victims Bill of Rights as included in the Higher Education Amendments of 1992. Inquiries concerning the information contained in this disclosure should be directed to the Chief Information Officer, Jefferson State Community College, 2601 Carson Road, Birmingham, Alabama 35215, (205) 853-1200 or (205) 856-7765.
Campus Crime Statistics Disclosure
Jefferson State is required under Section 668.46(b) of the Campus Security Act to publish and distribute an annual security report. The Campus Crime and Security Survey as required by the United States Department of Education is available at http://ope.ed.gov/security. The offenses for which the Campus Security Act requires statistical reporting are defined in accordance with the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) System, as modified by the Hate Crimes Statistics Act.
Definitions of crimes which must be defined by the Clery Act are:
Domestic Violence - Defined under federal law (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)) as any felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed by:
- Current or former spouse, or intimate partner, of the victim
- Person whom the victim shares a child with
- A person who has or is cohabitating 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 or violence occurred or
- By any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from 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 determined based on the complainant’s statement, length of the relationship, type of relationship, and the frequency of interactions between the person(s) involved in the relationship. For the purpose 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. For the purpose of complying with the requirements of this section, any incident meeting this definition is considered a crime for the purpose of Clery Act reporting.
Sexual Assault – Can include any form of actual or attempted sexual activity perpetrated upon a person without that person’s consent, including sexual behavior coerced through physical or verbal threats, force or other forms of manipulation and sexual behavior when one person cannot give consent due to incapacitation.
Rape – 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 definition includes any gender of victim or perpetrator.
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 temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
Incest – Sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
Consent – Knowing, voluntary and clear permission by word or action, to engage in mutually agreed upon sexual activity. Each party has the responsibility to make certain that the other has consented before engaging in the activity. The request of consent must be specific to each act and should be obtained with each new level of physical and/or sexual contact/conduct in any given interaction, regardless of who initiates it. For consent to be valid, there must be at the time of the act of sexual intercourse or sexual contact actual words or conduct indicating freely given agreement to have sexual intercourse or sexual contact. A person cannot consent if he or she is unable to understand what is happening or is disoriented, helpless, asleep or unconscious for any reason, including due to alcohol or other drugs. An individual who engages in sexual activity when the individual knows, or should know, that the other person is physically or mentally incapacitated has engaged in nonconsensual conduct. Intoxication is not a defense against allegations that an individual has engaged in nonconsensual sexual conduct. Consent is the act of willingly and verbally agreeing to engage in specific sexual contact or conduct. Obtaining consent is an ongoing process in any sexual interaction.
Stalking – Stalking, defined as intentionally and repeatedly harassing or following a person and intentionally or unintentionally placing the person being followed or harassed in fear of physical harm to one’s self or property or physical harm to another person or another’s property. A person engages in stalking if, without lawful authority and under circumstances not amounting to a felony attempt of another crime:
- He or she intentionally and repeatedly harasses or repeatedly follows another person; and
- The person being harassed or followed is placed in fear that the stalker intends to injure the person, another person, or property of the person or of another person. The feeling of fear must be one that a reasonable person in the same situation would experience under all the circumstances; and
- The stalker either intends to frighten, intimidate, or harass the person; or knows or reasonably should know that the person is afraid, intimidated, or harassed even if the stalker did not intend to place the person in fear or intimidate or harass the person.
- If he or she attempts to contact or follow the person after being given actual notice that the person does not want to be contacted or followed. That constitutes prima facie evidence that the stalker intends to intimidate or harass the person. “Contact” includes, in addition to any other form of contact or communication, the sending of an electronic communication to the person.
Confidentiality
Jefferson State Community College encourages anyone who is the victim or witness to any crime to promptly report the incident to the police. Because police reports are public records under state law, Jefferson State Community College Campus Police cannot hold reports of crime in confidence. Anonymous reports to Campus Safety Authorities may be filed for statistical reporting purposes. A student’s privacy concerns are weighed against the needs of the College to respond to certain incidents and crimes. To the greatest extent possible, all reports will remain private. In compelling situations, Jefferson State Community College reserves the right to take reasonable action in response to any crime report, and information may be shared with appropriate departments and agencies under a need-to-know basis when it pertains to investigative needs and safety concerns of the campus community. All reports submitted on a confidential or anonymous basis are evaluated for purposes of issuing a campus-wide “timely warning notification” as well as inclusion in the annual crime statistics.
Arrest Statistics Relating to Alcohol, Drugs and Weapons
For compliance with the Campus Security Act, institutions must also report the numbers of arrests for liquor law violations, drug abuse violations, and weapons possession. See the Appendix for Crime Statistics for Reporting Periods. Definitions of crimes for which arrests must be reported also as defined by the National Association of College and Universities Attorneys College Law Digest are:
- Liquor law violations: violations of laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession or use of alcoholic beverages (with the exception of “driving under the influence” or “drunkenness”). Drug abuse violations: violations of laws prohibiting the production, distribution, and/or use of certain controlled substances and the equipment or devices utilized in their preparation or use.
- Weapons possessions: violations 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.
Sex Offender Registry
The Federal Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act, enacted on October 28, 2000 and the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16921) requires institutions of higher education to issue a statement advising the campus community where law enforcement agency information provided by a state concerning registered sex offenders may be obtained. It also requires sex offenders already required to register in a state to provide notice, as required under state law, to each institution of higher education in that state at which the person is employed, carries on a vocation, or is a student. Information about sex offenders in Alabama can be found at: https://www.alea.gov/node/270