Clery Act

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act is a federal law in the United States, commonly known as the Clery Act. The law was passed due to concerns that American institutions of higher education were hiding crime. This entry discusses the history of the law, its intent and requirements, and its impact on higher education institutions.

The law is named for Jeanne Clery who was raped and murdered in her residence hall room at Lehigh University in 1986. After the murder, the Clery family found that a large number of crimes had occurred on campus prior to their daughter’s death and were not reported. They sued and used the money from the settlement to found an advocacy organization called Security ...