Clery Crime Definitions

Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter

• The willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another. 

Negligent Manslaughter

• The killing of another person through gross negligence.

Any sexual act directed against another person, without the consent of the victim, including incidents where the victim is incapable of giving consent.  

Rape 

• The 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.

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 because of his/her 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.

Statutory Rape

• Sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.

The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.

The unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or means likely to produce death or great bodily harm.

The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft.

The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle.

Any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc.

A Hate/Bias Crime is a criminal offense that manifests evidence that the victim was intentionally selected because of the perpetrator's bias against the victim.

Under the Clery Act possibly bias categories include: Race, Gender, Gender Identity, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Ethnicity, National Origin, and Disability.

Race

A preformed negative attitude toward a group of persons who possess common physical characteristics, e.g., color of skin, eyes, and/or hair; facial features, etc., genetically transmitted by descent and heredity which distinguish them as a distinct division of humankind (e.g., Asians, blacks or African Americans, whites).

Gender

A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based on their actual or perceived gender, e.g., male or female.

Gender Identity

A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based on their actual or perceived gender identity, e.g., bias against transgender or gender non-conforming individuals. Gender non-conforming describes a person who does not conform to the gender-based expectations of society, e.g., a woman dressed in traditionally male clothing or a man wearing makeup. A gender non-conforming person may or may not be a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person but may be perceived as such.

Religion

A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons who share the same religious beliefs regarding the origin and purpose of the universe and the existence or nonexistence of a supreme being, e.g., Catholics, Jews, Protestants, atheists.

Sexual Orientation

A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation. Sexual Orientation is the term for a person's physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction to members of the same and/or opposite sex, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual (straight) individuals.

Ethnicity

A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of people whose members identify with each other through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, common culture (often including a shared religion) and/or ideology that stresses common ancestry. The concept of ethnicity differs from the closely related term "race" in that "race" refers to a grouping based mostly upon biological criteria, while "ethnicity" also encompasses additional cultural factors.

National Origin

A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of people based on their actual or perceived country of birth. This bias may be against people that have a name or accent associated with a national origin group, participate in certain customs associated with a national origin group, or because they are married to or associate with people of a certain national origin.

Disability

A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their physical or mental impairments, whether such disability is temporary or permanent, congenital or acquired by heredity, accident, injury, advanced age or illness.

For Clery purposes, hate crimes include any offense that is motivated by bias. FBI UCR General and Hate Crimes include:

• Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter
• Sex Offenses
  • Rape
  • Fondling
  • Incest
  • Statutory Rape
• Robbery
• Aggravated Assault
• Burglary
• Motor Vehicle Theft
• Arson
• Larceny-Theft (see below for definition)
• Simple Assault (see below for definition)
• Intimidation (see below for definition)
• Destruction / Damage / Vandalism of Property (see below for definition)

Larceny-theft, simple assault, intimidation, and destruction, damage, or vandalism of property are only reported if motivated by bias as determined by one of the bias categories (race, gender, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin, and disability.) They are not reported under the general Clery Act crime statistics.

Larceny-Theft: the unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another. Constructive possession is the condition in which a person does not have physical custody or possession, but is in a position to exercise dominion or control over a thing.

Simple Assault: an unlawful physical attack by one person upon another where neither the offender displays a weapon, nor the victim suffers obvious severe or aggravated bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possibly internal injury, severe laceration, or loss of consciousness.

Intimidation: unlawfully place another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words and/or conduct, but without displaying a weapon or subjecting the victim to actual physical attack.

Destruction / Damage / Vandalism of Property: to willfully or maliciously destroy, damage, deface, or otherwise injure real or personal property without the consent of the owner or the person having custody or control of it.

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 reporting party's statement and with consideration of:

• The length of the relationship.
• The type of relationship.
• The frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.

A felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed:

• By a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim;
• By a person with whom the victim share a child in common;
• By a person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the victim as a spouse or intimate partner;
• By a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred; or
• By any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person's acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred.

Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person's safety or the safety of others or suffer substantial emotional distress.

• Course of conduct: Two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a person's property.
  
  
• Reasonable person: A reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar identities to the victim.
  
  
• Substantial emotional distress: Significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.