Penn releases annual Jeanne Clery report

In the spirit of transparency, the University released its annual Jeanne Clery crime report Sept. 15, detailing three years of crime and emergency on campus.

The report, made available to all members of the Penn community, includes statistics for the years 2008 to 2010 and outlines the University’s policies on campus crime.

The report includes statistics on murder, arson, liquor-law violations and motor vehicle theft, among others.

From 2008 to 2010, the report shows no reported hate crimes made in the Penn Patrol Zone.

Of the two arrests for liquor law violations, both were made on public property off of campus. Similarly, the two reported murders in the past three years both occurred off-campus and in 2008 — none were reported in 2009 and 2010.

Over the three years, however, there were 25 reported forcible sexual offenses on campus — 9 of which took place in 2010.

Of 44 aggravated assaults, 20 occurred in 2010. One hundred and six robberies were reported — only 28 of which occurred on-campus — as well as 25 instances of motor vehicle theft over the last three years.

“Statistics are just one aspect of how you judge a program,” Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said. The report as a whole highlights Penn’s “outstanding public safety program.”

One category that Penn excels in is fire safety, Director of PennComm Operations Mitchell Yanak said.

During the three years included in the report, Penn has not experienced any property damage or loss of life or injury due to a fire on campus, he said, adding that Penn’s fire safety should be an important factor to prospective students.

In addition, the report highlights Penn’s emergency preparedness plan — another strong point for the Division of Public Safety, Yanak said.

DPS continues to “participate [in], lead and train on issues on violence against women” with the Women’s Center and bring itself up-to-date on all law changes, Rush said.

The report is released each year by every university in the country as mandated by The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.

The Clery Act was named in honor of a Lehigh University freshman who was raped and murdered in her dormitory room in 1986.

“Before [the Act] was passed, colleges didn’t have to report crimes,” Security on Campus Outreach Education Coordinator Melissa Lucchesi said. In the wake of Clery’s death, her parents Connie and Howard found that Lehigh had not informed students of 38 violent crimes that had been perpetrated in the previous three years, and worked to pass the Clery Act.

The Act also requires universities to maintain a crime log of the most recent 60 days and to issue timely warnings about crimes to the community, Lucchesi added. “Students have the right to know.”

“[Connie Clery] really wanted to make sure no other family ever suffered what she had to suffer,” Rush said.

Not only does DPS work to comply with the law, but also to live up to “the spirit of the Clery mission,” Rush added.

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