Clery Act Crimes

Criminal Homicide:

• Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter:  The willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another. Included in Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter are death caused by injuries received in a fight, argument, quarrel, assault, or the commission of a crime.
• Manslaughter by Negligence:  The killing of another person through gross negligence. Included in Manslaughter by Negligence is any death caused by gross negligence of another.  In other words, it is something that a reasonable and prudent person would not do.

Sexual Assault (Sex Offenses): Any sexual act directed against another person, without consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent.  This includes attempts.

• 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.  This offense includes the rape of both males and females.
• Fondling:  The touching of the private parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, without 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 incapacity.
• Incest:  Sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
• Statutory Rape:  Sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.  (In Kentucky, the age of consent is sixteen (16) years old.)

Other Offenses:

• Robbery:  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.
• Aggravated Assault:  An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury.  This type of assault is usually accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm.  (Simple assaults are excluded.)
• Burglary:  The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft.  For reporting purposes, this definition includes unlawful entry with intent to commit a larceny or felony; breaking and entering with intent to commit a larceny; housebreaking; safecracking; and all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned.
• Motor Vehicle Theft:  The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle.  (This does not include thefts from motor vehicles.)  This includes all cases where automobiles are taken by persons not having lawful access even though the vehicles are later abandoned – including joyriding.
• Arson:  Any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without the intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc.

A Hate Crime is any criminal offense (as listed above) that manifests evidence that the victim was intentionally selected because of the perpetrator’s bias against the victim.  Bias is a preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their race, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin – or the offender’s perception thereof.

The Clery Act Categories of Bias:

• 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).
• 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.
• 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).
• 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 stress a common ancestry.
• National Origin:  A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of people based on their actual or perceived country of birth.
• 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 Act purposes, Hate Crimes include any of the criminal offenses listed above and the offenses below that are motivated by bias:

• Larceny-Theft:  The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another.  (Larceny and theft mean the same thing in the UCR.)  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, possible internal injury, severe laceration, or loss of consciousness.
• Intimidation:  To unlawfully place another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words and/or other 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.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) includes amendments to the Clery Act and requires institutions to disclose statistics related to Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking.  Sexual Assault is included by the FBI as a Criminal Offense and is discussed above as part of Criminal Offenses. 

• Dating Violence:  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 based on the reporting party’s statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.  For purposes of this definition, dating violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse.  Dating violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence.
• Domestic Violence:  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 shares 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 law 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 the person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred.
  • To categorize an incident as Domestic Violence, the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim must be more than just two people living together as roommates.  The people cohabitating must be current or former spouses or have an intimate relationship.
• Stalking:  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.

The Clery Act requires reporting of arrests and referrals for disciplinary actions for the following violations:

• Weapons (carrying, possessing, etc.):  The violation of laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, concealment, or use of firearms, cutting instruments, explosives, incendiary devices or other deadly weapons.  This classification also encompasses weapons offenses that are regulatory in nature.
• Drug Abuse Violations:  The violation of laws prohibiting the production, distribution and/or use of certain controlled substances and the equipment or devices utilized in their preparation and/or use.  The unlawful cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, purchase, use, possession, transportation or importation of any controlled drug or narcotic substance.  Arrests for violations of state and local laws, specifically those relating to the unlawful possession, sale, use, growing, manufacturing, and making of narcotic drugs.
• Liquor Law Violations:  The violation of state or local laws or ordinances prohibiting: the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, or use of alcoholic beverages, not including driving under the influence and drunkenness.

The Stop Campus Hazing Act was signed into law in December 2024.  It updated the name of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Statistics Act (commonly referred to as the Clery Act) to Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act.  The purpose of the Stop Campus Hazing Act is to:

• Improve awareness and transparency of hazing by requiring colleges to include hazing incidents in their annual security report;
• Prevent hazing by establishing campus-wide education and prevention programs; and 
• Increase transparency by requiring colleges to publish on their websites the institution’s hazing prevention policies and the organizations that have violated them (https://www.clerycenter.org/hazing-legislation). 

Hazing Policy 

Hazing is prohibited in any form at the University. The Hazing Policy, which is consistent with the provisions of the Stop Campus Hazing Act and other applicable federal and state laws, is established to promote a safe and respectful environment for all members of the campus community.

Hazing as Defined by the University of Kentucky

“Hazing” means a direct action which substantially endangers the physical and psychological safety or well-being of a minor or student for the purpose of recruitment, initiation into, affiliation with, or enhancing or maintaining membership or status within any organization, including but not limited to actions which coerce or force a minor or a student to do any of the following, regardless of the individual’s willingness to participate: 

• Violate federal or state law; 
• Consume any food, liquid, alcoholic liquid, drug, tobacco product, or other controlled substance which subjects the person to a risk of a serious physical or psychological injury;  
• Endure brutality of a physical nature, including whipping, beating or paddling, branding or exposure to the elements; 
• Endure forced or coerced activities such as excessive exercise, sleep deprivation, or threats;  
• Endure brutality of a sexual nature; or 
• Endure any other activity that creates a reasonable risk of serious physical or psychological injury to the minor or student, or harm to the individual’s health, safety or dignity. 

How to Report Hazing

Any member of the campus community who witnesses, experiences, or suspects hazing should file a Hazing Incident Report Form. Reports are routed to the Dean of Students' Office to be reviewed and investigated by the Office of Student Conduct or other University offices as appropriate.  Investigations may consist of written reports, evidence gathering, and interviews of members within the organization or group. All members of the University community must cooperate in any investigation of hazing. Anyone who reports hazing in good faith is protected from retaliation. Retaliation against individuals who report or participate in investigations will result in further disciplinary action.

Access Student Complaints and Grievance Reports here.

For a direct link to the Hazing Incident Reporting Form click here.

The Process Used to Investigate Hazing Incidents

Violations of this regulation may be addressed through restorative or corrective action under the Code of Student Conduct or any other applicable University Regulations or Policies. Possible restorative actions for individual students resulting from the University student conduct process range from a warning to disciplinary expulsion. Possible restorative actions for student organizations or groups include suspension or restriction from University property or revocation of Registered Student Organization status, if applicable. Possible corrective actions for faculty and staff range from an oral warning to termination of employment. If necessary, pending the investigation, individuals or students may be subject to interim measures. Violators of this policy are subject to referral to appropriate local law enforcement as well as to regional and national affiliated offices for groups and organizations.

Applicable Local, State, and Tribal Hazing Law

Visit Student Conduct’s Student Organizations Conduct Report web page to access a copy of the hazing policy, as well as other relevant state and federal laws.  These resources outline how hazing is defined and addressed at the University, in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and under federal legislation.

Prevention and Awareness Programs Related to Hazing

The University is committed to hazing prevention through education and training. Hazing prevention training completion is required by all current students and employees in the first year of implementation of the new Stop Campus Hazing Act. Thereafter only new students and employees will be required to complete the training.  This training is a critical tool to strengthen awareness and reduce tolerance of hazing across all campus populations.  The training modules are created by Vector Solutions, the current platform for Alcohol and Sexual Assault Prevention modules, and adapted to University specific language and culture. In addition, the training will emphasize the following:

• Risk recognition 
• Reporting responsibilities 
• Bystander intervention 

Hazing Statistics

Institutions are required to start publishing Hazing incidents to the mandated daily crime log and recording such incidents to statistics January 1, 2025.  All Hazing incidents occurring on Clery Act geography are currently recorded to the crime log.    Hazing statistics will be published in the crime charts at the back of the Annual Safety and Security Report starting in 2026 once a full calendar year of statistics have been gathered for the first calendar year, 2025.

Campus Hazing Transparency Report

The Campus Hazing Transparency Report (CHTR) summarizes findings concerning any established or recognized student organization found to be in violation of standards of conduct relating to hazing as defined by the University.  A report of each incident will show the name of the student organization, a general description of the violation that resulted in a finding of responsibility (including whether the violation involved the abuse or illegal use of alcohol or drugs), the finding of the University, any sanctions placed on the student organization, dates on which the incidents were alleged to have occurred, date the investigation into the incident was initiated, date on which the investigation ended w/ a finding that a hazing violation occurred, and the date the institution provided notice to the student organization that the incident resulted in a hazing violation.  

Visit Student Conduct’s Student Organizations web page to access an overview of the hazing investigation process and resources for organization presidents and advisors.

Direct access to the CHTR click here.

Hazing Statistics vs the CHTR

It is important to note that Hazing statistics and details reported in the CHTR may not match exactly.  The data for statistics and the information in the CHTR may be counted and reported differently depending on the specific incident. Incidents recorded for statistical purposes are bound by the federal definition of Hazing and Clery Act geography, while incidents in the CHTR are bound by the University’s Hazing policy and is not bound by Clery Act geography constraints.  

In the chart below, the National Association of Clery Compliance Officers and Professionals (NACCOP) details how the Stop Campus Hazing Act mandated disclosures differ for the daily crime log and statistics versus the CHTR.

STOP CAMPUS HAZING ACT DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS (Provided by NACCOP)