By Fleur Bailey and Alex Luthi
STAFF WRITER AND ONLINE EDITOR

In the face of increasing concerns for public safety, a review of City College records by The Guardsman has revealed the college appears to be failing to comply with the Jeanne Clery Act, a federal law regulating the reporting of crime on college campuses.

While the college appears to be complying with portions of the law, the requirement of any college or university that employs a campus police department or security force to publish a regularly updated crime log has not been followed by City College.

According to the Clery Act, formerly the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990, the college’s requirements can be simplified into three parts: A requirement to produce yearly statistics of crime of a certain nature on campus, a requirement to issue timely warnings regarding ongoing threats to the campus, and a daily crime log no more than two business days out of date.

Graph detailing City College's recent Clery Act compliance. INFOGRAPHIC BY ALEX LUTHI / THE GUARDSMAN

City College does not currently have a full-time chief of police, but Rod Santos, dean of public safety for City College has undertaken some of the responsibilities until a suitable replacement is found. Santos said although he was familiar with the Clery Act, he was unaware that City College was not fully complying with all requirements.

“It’s news to me that we might not be following the Clery Act,” he said. “I didn’t know that there was a 48 hour turnaround time [for crime log updates]. My definition of it is broad; I thought it was just about reporting campus crime.”

Although the San Francisco Community College District Police Department Web site does contain recent crime alerts and annual crime statistics, the last entry to the police log is a report of a stolen backpack that was recovered by the SFCCDPD on Feb. 12. As of press time, the college’s crime log would have to be up-to-date for all reported crimes as of March 6 to comply with the Clery Act.

“I think it is important for students to know what’s happening,” said Yuji Matsumoto, 23, a Japanese and English major and a docent of the Diego Rivera Mural at City College. “It’s in their job description to update their crime log. Accountability is the bottom line and I think it’s irresponsible if they’re not doing it.”

Currently, only one SFCCDPD officer undertakes the task of updating the campus’ crime log. Officer Christian Smith, who compiles the annual statistics for the college, says he uses any time he has outside of his regular duties to update the log. Smith is one of the two peace officers currently stationed at Ocean campus.

“There is no cover up, it’s not a conspiracy [why the log isn’t updated regularly], it’s just a lack of time,” he said. “We are understaffed. There are only two officers on Ocean campus right now, so we can’t be as proactive. I probably could make time, but it doesn’t feel right. I’d rather be out doing my job.”

“We have to be very careful how we handle things,” Smith said. “We’re careful how we release information without endangering the victim or making an already traumatized person more traumatized. We are very careful about victims’ rights, especially sexual battery or very sensitive cases.”

If a college is not complying fully with the Clery Act, a complaint can be filed with the U.S. Department of Education, which is in charge of enforcing Clery Act compliance.

If an ensuing investigation finds a college in violation of the Clery Act, the college can be fined a maximum $27,500 per violation. The total amount of fines can vary, depending on the gravity of the violation and the size of the institution. If the violations are severe enough, the college can lose all of its federal funding, including federal financial aid.

Eastern Michigan University is the most recent of four U.S. colleges to be fined for violating the Clery Act. The University received a $350,000 fine in June 2008 after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education uncovered that EMU had concealed the cause of death of one of its students in 2006.

Media reports stated that the student, Laura Dickinson, was raped and murdered in her dorm room. The university withheld information for 10 weeks after Dickinson’s death before announcing to her parents and the college’s community that her death was actually a homicide.

The Jeanne Clery Act, named after the daughter of Howard and Connie Clery, a freshman at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn. who was raped and murdered in her dorm room in 1986. After her death, Clery’s parents discovered Lehigh students had not been informed about 38 previous violent crimes that had occurred on campus during the three years prior to their daughter’s death.

The Clerys then pushed to have a law created to inform students and the public about crime on college campuses, in the hope that publishing information on campus crime would help students make more informed choices about their safety.

The act was revised in 1998 to include the requirement of updating the crime logs within two days of the last reported incident. While the annual statistics need only cover crimes of a certain severity, a college’s crime log must include all incidents reported to the security force or police department for the college. The log must be made available to any member of the public for inspection.

“I generally feel safe on campus,” said Akira Wong, a 27-year-old English major. “I see the crime alerts posted around campus and I’m curious so I always read them. I don’t go looking for the information, but it’s surprising that there have been so many unreported crimes.”

City College’s police department also falls under the jurisdiction of Peter Goldstein, vice chancellor of finance and administration. Goldstein said that he will work with Santos to keep the crime log up-to-date, and that Santos will ensure a second person is trained to update the log so the college will no longer rely on a single individual.

“The law is the law and we have to comply,” Goldstein said.

This is the first installment of a series highlighting public safety on community college campuses in The Guardsman. The next installment in the series will be in the March 25 issue of The Guardsman.

Another City College student was robbed at gun point on Feb. 10, totaling two armed thefts on campus within just one week of each other.
As reported previously by the Guardsman, a female student was approached by three black males while exiting her car on Judson Street on Feb. 6. One of the suspects pointed a gun at her and demanded her cell phone and money. The victim was unharmed and her cell phone was later found near the scene.
The second robbery took place during the afternoon of Feb. 10 behind Conlan Hall near the overpass to the Balboa Park BART Station on Ocean Avenue. A student was leaving campus on his bicycle when the suspect approached him, threatened him with a small handgun and demanded his iPhone. Yelling for help, the victim struggled with the suspect, who was eventually overcome after an unsuccessful attempt to steal the victim’s bicycle.
The suspect fled toward Cloud Circle, leaving the victim with a cut finger. He was described as a black male in his early twenties, thin build and about six feet tall. At the time of the assault he was wearing blue jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt.
According to the alert e-mail sent out to the City College community, “The S.F. Community College Police has increased patrols throughout the campus.”

A City College student was robbed at gunpoint on Judson Avenue in front of the Environmental/Horticulture Building on Feb. 6 at 9:20 p.m.,  according to the City College Police Department.

The victim, while walking toward the Diego Rivera Theatre,  was approached by three male suspects, one of whom was carrying a semi-automatic handgun. The suspect with the weapon demanded the victim’s money and placed the gun against the victim’s chin. The victim gave the suspects money who then fled towards Gennessee Street.

The suspect with the gun is described as a black male in his mid to late teens, 5 feet 5 inches, 150 pounds, slender build, black hair, black eyes, clean shaven and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with white lettering.

The other two suspects are described as black males in their mid to late teens, both 5 feet 5 inches, 150 pounds, slender build, with black hair, brown eyes, clean shaven and both wearing black hooded sweatshirts one with white lettering and one without lettering.

Lunch Box thief
An unidentified person attempted to burglarize the safe at The Lunch Box restaurant on Nov. 30, campus police said. The owner of The Lunch Box reported the incident the next morning. Cameras inside captured the alleged the crime, but police were unable to identify the perpetrator from the recording. Nothing was taken from the safe and nothing was damaged, with the exception of the safe lock, which showed signs of tampering.

Science Hall seizure
Officers responded to a person having a seizure in Science hall on Nov. 3. The victim was reported to have become violent due to disorientation from the seizure. Police reassured him that he was all right. The victim was taken to San Francisco General Hospital.

Box Office break-in
During a night patrol, campus police noticed a door open at the Wellness Center and proceeded to investigate. The officer noticed someone had broken into the Box Office with a fire extinguisher and ransacked the office. Nothing appeared to be missing. Campus police said the fire extinguisher discharged when the person broke in, expelling its contents across the floor.

De Avila Firearm Arrest
Campus police responded to a dispute of a stolen cell phone between three female students at the De Avila campus on Nov. 20.  During the dispute, a male trying to help became involved. Upon arriving, officers called for additional units because the male he said he was carrying a loaded gun. The male was then charged with possession of a firearm on a school zone, carrying a concealed weapon and carrying a loaded firearm.

Faculty permit confiscated

An officer on duty observed a female who appeared to be studying in her car that was parked in an area designated for faculty on Nov. 5.

The officer suspected that the person was not a faculty member, and proceeded to approach and question the suspect. Upon conducting an interview with the alleged suspect, the officer found that the alleged suspect was a student instead of a faculty member and misusing a faculty parking permit.

The permit confiscated and a report was forwarded to the Dean of Student Affairs.

Police respond to Marina disturbance

A male suspect was reported by security personnel at Marina Middle School as acting agitated and breaking car windows while classes were being held on the evening of Nov. 6.

College police were dispatched to the location of the alleged disturbance. When officers arrived, the alleged suspect was found on the ground with cuts on his hand.

Officers also reported observing a car window and driver side mirror were shattered at the same location. Paramedics were called to bandage the suspect’s hand, who then was transported to San Francisco General Hospital for a 72-hour mental Health evaluation.

Angry student kicks car, police say
Officers responded to an employee that was reporting vandalism to his car by a female student on Cloud Circle near the Creative Arts Building on the afternoon of Nov. 7.

The student allegedly kicked the employee’s car after she yelled for the driver to stop, accusing him of a almost hitting her service dog. Witnesses reportedly said the employee was driving at a safe speed, but that the dog was almost hit while the employee drove by, angering the student.

Officers respond to bloody nose

Paramedics were at the Science Building on the afternoon on Nov. 11 reportedly responding to a student’s husband who had a bloody nose.

Officers noticed the paramedics and inquired about the emergency. According to the report, the officers then assisted the student with her car that was parked in front of the science building. Custodians were called to clean up the blood left on the floor, according to the report.

Student hit, injured by vehicle
A female City College student was struck by a four door Sedan in front of the Arts Extension on Cloud Circle around 10 a.m. on Nov. 4, according to campus police. According to campus police, the victim sustained no major injuries, but did complain of pain to her leg. She was was transported to SF General Hospital for further evaluation. The driver of the other vehicle, who was also a City College student, was cited and his vehicle was towed because he was allegedly driving without a license.

Sex acts reported in Cloud Hall
Campus police reported two individuals were alledgedly performing sexual activities in a men’s bathroom stall on the second floor of Cloud Hall on Oct. 22. Officers were dispatched after a student walked into the bathroom around 4 p.m. and saw a male student peeping over a stall at two males, both repeat offenders, allegedly performing sexual acts. A citizen’s arrest was made for one of the violators, while another was just scolded. Narcotics and paraphernalia were allegedly found on the individual arrested; according to the officers, the arrested individual also allegedly smelled of alcohol and was intoxicated.

Student strikes faculty member
According to campus police, a faculty member was struck on the head in Conlan Hall by a student who claimed she was hearing voices in her head on Oct. 16. The faculty member sustained minor injuries and required no further medical attention. The student was transported to SF General and detained for a 72 hour psychological evaluation.

Bicycle rack damaged in crash
A student driving through Cloud Circle on Oct. 16 crashed of his car near Ram Plaza, damaging a bike rack. Officer Christian Smith responded to the scene at about 8 a.m., finding there were no injuries to report, excluding the damage to the bike rack. The rack was hit when the student lost control of the vehicle by allegedly hitting the wrong pedal at the wrong time, according to campus police.