What is the role of a CSA?
The UCA Police Department encourages all members of the campus community to report crimes to us on a timely basis. However, under the Clery Act, CSAs are required to report Clery Act qualifying crimes which occurred on campus, in public areas bordering campus and in certain non-campus buildings owned or controlled (leased) by UCA. CSAs should only report those crimes that have not been previously reported to UCA Police or another CSA. The intent of including non-law enforcement personnel in the CSA role is to acknowledge that some community members and students, in particular, may be hesitant about reporting crimes to the police, but may be more inclined to report incidents to other campus-affiliated individuals.
To review information on reportable Clery Act crimes, reportable disciplinary referrals and/or the Clery Act incident occurrence locations that are reportable, please refer to Maps and Geography Definitions and Clery Crime Definitions pages. For additional information on the Clery Act and CSA responsibilities, visit the Online Campus Security Authority Training and/or the CSA Resources Sheet (PDF).
What makes you a CSA?
The law defines four categories of CSAs:
- University Police Department sworn personnel and department administrators.
- Non-police individuals of offices responsible for campus security. These CSAs have security presence or access control authority on university property, including, but not limited to, Physical Plant, library security personnel, security staff at student functions, and student ID checkers that manage access to campus facilities (i.e. HPER Center).
- The Officials with significant responsibility for student and campus activities category is defined broadly to ensure complete coverage and thorough reporting of crimes. To determine which individuals or organizations are CSAs consider job functions that involve relationships with students. Look for Officials (i.e., not support staff) whose functions involve relationships with students.
- An Official is defined as any person who has the authority and the duty to take action or respond to particular issues on behalf of the University. If someone has significant responsibility for student and campus activities, s/he is a CSA. Some examples of CSAs in this category include, but are not limited to: deans, student affairs professionals, student housing staff, athletic director/assistant directors, coaches, student activities coordinators, student judicial officers, and faculty/staff advisors to student organizations.
- Any individual or organization specified in an institution’s statement of campus security policy as an individual or organization to which students and employees should report criminal offenses – University Police.
Who is not a CSA?
The following non-CSA positions/functions include but are not limited to: administrative staff members who are not responsible for students, clerical staff, individual faculty with no student activity duties outside the classroom, medical staff at the Student Health Clinic, or counselors in the Counseling Center who provide care to individual students.
CSA Crime Reporting
CSA Crime Reporting – When a crime is reported to a CSA, first ask the person if they would like to report it to University Police. If so, contact UCA Police at 501-450-3111. If the CSA has firsthand knowledge and confirmation that the reporting party filed a police report with UCA Police, then they are not obligated to complete and submit a Campus Security Authority Crime Report Form. However, if the reporting party says they will file a police report with UCA Police, leaving the CSA with no firsthand knowledge and confirmation that a police report was filed, then the CSA must still complete and submit a CSA Crime Report.
CSAs are encouraged to report all crimes reported to them, in a timely manner, to UCA Police. However, under the Clery Act, only Clery Act qualifying crimes are required to be reported by CSAs. The CSA Crime Report Form can be submitted online.
If the reported crime is made in good faith, meaning that there is reasonable basis for believing that the information is not rumor or hearsay, then the crime is Clery reportable. CSAs, when interacting with the crime reporting party, need to gather incident information that would provide sufficient detail to properly classify the incident. This means CSAs need to document reporting party responses or lack thereof. CSAs should not investigate the crime or attempt to determine whether a crime, in fact, took place. When in doubt, a Report Form should be completed and submitted!
What do I tell a reporting party?
The following is a sample of what you can tell a reporting party who comes to you to report a crime:
“As part of my position on campus I am a federally mandated crime reporter for the university. I am required to submit a report of this incident to statistical data gathering. If you request confidentiality, the report will not include your name, or that of any other involved individuals. My report will contain only the information you provide. Do you have any questions? Would you like to help me fill it out?”
What is done with CSA Reports?
The Clery compliance coordinator reviews CSA reports and determines whether it is a reportable crime in the Annual Security Report (ASR). These reports are also evaluated by the Clery Coordinator for timely warning and/or emergency notification consideration. Collected data will be consolidated from multiple sources and reported to the federal Department of Education, and published in the Clery Annual Security & Fire Safety Report.
Crime / Emergency and Non-Emergency Reporting
Regardless of your status (CSA or non-CSA), all community members are encouraged to promptly report all criminal incidents and other public safety related emergencies to police. For incidents requiring immediate attention, dial 911 or use any Emergency Phone located throughout the campus. Non-emergency incidents can be reported by dialing 501-450-3111 from any phone or in person at the UCA Police Department located on campus between State Hall and Hughes Hall.