The Clery Act requires colleges to publicly report campus crimes in standardized categories. Learning how to interpret these statistics—and what's excluded—helps you understand institutional transparency and assess actual safety trends. Clery data is your window into campus crime.
What Crimes Are Reported Under Clery?
Clery statistics include specific crime categories selected by the U.S. Department of Education. Institutions report murders, sexual assaults, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, motor vehicle thefts, and arrests for certain offenses.
- Murder and non-negligent manslaughter
- Sexual assault (including rape, fondling, and non-consensual sexual contact)
- Robbery
- Aggravated assault
- Burglary (residential and non-residential)
- Motor vehicle theft
- Liquor, drug, and weapons violations (arrests and disciplinary referrals only)
Geographic Reporting Categories
Colleges must report crimes by location: on-campus, residence halls, non-campus property, and public property (streets, parks adjacent to campus). This breakdown reveals whether incidents cluster in high-traffic areas or residential spaces.
CategoryIncluded in Data?Crimes in residence hallsYes—separate line itemCrimes in transit (school bus)Yes—if on campus or non-campus propertyCrimes off-campus nearbyYes—if adjacent public property onlyPrivate off-campus housingNo—unless owned/controlled by collegeCrimes in parking lotsYes—if on college property
- On-campus: Land and buildings owned or controlled by the institution
- Residence halls: Subset of on-campus; dormitories and student housing
- Non-campus: Owned/controlled property not part of the main campus (satellite locations, athletic complexes)
- Public property: Thoroughfares and open spaces adjacent to campus that aren't owned by the college
Reading Statistics: Trends, Context & Limitations
Raw crime numbers can mislead. A campus with 1,000 students reporting 5 sexual assaults has a higher rate than a 50,000-student campus with 20. Clery data lacks arrest/conviction rates and outcomes, and excludes unreported crimes.
- Calculate crime rate per 1,000 students; compare colleges of similar size
- Review three years of data to identify trends; single-year increases may be reporting improvements, not safety declines
- Note that Clery reports crimes reported to police or Title IX offices; estimates of unreported assault suggest Clery captures only 10–30% of actual incidents
- Check footnotes and exceptions; some colleges make exemptions or define property boundaries unusually
- Compare police-reported crimes with disciplinary referrals to identify institutional responsiveness differences
Key Takeaways
- Clery Act statistics cover murder, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft—crimes categorized by location and severity.
- Raw numbers mislead; calculate rates per 1,000 students and compare colleges of similar size to draw meaningful safety conclusions.
- Clery data captures reported crimes only; unreported assault estimates suggest official statistics represent 10–30% of actual incidents—always supplement with broader surveys.
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