The Clery Crime Statistics were published in late September showing the crime statistics for City College for the year of 2014 along with the past three years.
All schools receiving federal financial aid are required to report the statistics of campus crime from both campus security and local law enforcement. This is apart of the Jeanne Clery Act which is a law that was passed after the rape and murder of Jeanne Clery in her campus dorm room in 1986.
The purpose of the Clery Act is to inform the public about crime on and around campus and to increase the safety of campuses.
“We have very low crime stats compared to other schools in Los Angeles and San Diego,” said Erik Fricke, head of campus security. “We are very isolated.”
Statistics for stalking and domestic violence are now included in the Clery Act due to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act that was passed in 2013. The two new requirements were added to the Clery Act in 2014 to increase the awareness of sexual assault and domestic violence.
The report shows a significant decrease in the cases of stalking at City College, which has gone down 54 percent from 2013. There were six incidents of stalking in 2014, compared to the 13 cases in 2013.
“I feel relatively safe,” said Katie Payne, a ninth year City College student majoring in studio arts.
Payne was the subject of stalking for a few years by a homeless man in his sixties who was periodically enrolled in the college. The situation escalated until Payne eventually got a restraining order, and got the man banned from campus.
The Clery Act is meant to target crime with a focus on sexual violence, given the history of the act. City College has an incredibly low number of crimes involving sexual violence.
“If we had dorms on campus we’d have much higher crime statistics,” Fricke said. “Especially in sex offences.”
In 2014 there were no reported incidents of forcible sex crimes on campus, however there were three off campus. In 2013 there was one incident of a forcible sex crime that took place on the City College campus.
Petty theft has been and continues to be one of the highest reported crimes at City College, but it dropped 11 percent from 48 cases in 2013 to 43 cases in 2014.
A copy of the crime log is available to view every day at the Security Office from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Clery Annual Security Report was also published along with the Clery Crime Statistics, and includes important information on what to do in the case of sexual assault, as well as information about what to do in the case of many other crimes.
Payne urges everyone to join clubs or get a support group at City College. During the time she was being stalked having a support group stopped it from escalating, Payne said.
“The purpose of the [Clery Act] is to allow students’ parents to view that information to see where the safest schools are,” Fricke said.
If you have any questions regarding the Clery Crime Statistics or crime on campus you can contact Erik Fricke directly at (805) 965-0581 X2464, or contact the security office at (805)730-4064
