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Title IX Implementation

3.1.22 - Update regarding Clery reporting requirements

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

We write today to share an update on recently discovered findings related to our reporting process. As a result of recent media inquiries, the Fresno State Police Department identified two incidents that should have been included in the daily crime logs. While these incidents took place in 2020, because the discrepancies were recently discovered, it was important that you hear of these findings directly from us. 

As with all aspects of our work relating to proper reporting of incidents involving sexual assault/sexual misconduct, the Fresno State Police Department works closely with the  Office of Title IX/Clery to diligently meet all federal Clery reporting requirements. The Clery Act is a federal law that requires colleges and universities to report campus crime data and support victims of violence. We take our commitment to the Clery Act very seriously and we continue to work collaboratively and are committed to transparency and accountability in our campus reporting. We will also work directly with the U.S. Department of Education to ensure full compliance and transparency around these discrepancies.  

One of the incidents occurred in another agency's jurisdiction and qualified as a Clery reportable non-campus location. The campus appropriately disclosed this incident in its statistics as part of its annual security report. However, the incident did not appear on the daily crime log. The Fresno State Police Department advised that this was because the Record Information Management System (RIMS) is used to report crime statistics to the Department of Justice (DOJ); if we had added this incident to the daily crime log, it would have resulted in a duplicate report to DOJ (because the incident was reported to a local law enforcement agency that handled the police investigation). However, based on the requirements of the law and CSU policy, this incident should have appeared on the daily crime log. That daily crime log has been updated and the Fresno State Police Department has modified its procedures to identify a solution that ensures full compliance without the unintended consequence of duplicate reporting to the Department of Justice.

A second case involving an on-campus incident did not appear in the daily crime log due to a system error in the software platform used by the Fresno State Police department. Upon discussion with the vendor, the Fresno State Police department has been advised by the software vendor that this is a glitch in their software system, and they are taking steps to address it. This software glitch is not unique to Fresno State. This incident involved a confidential victim and because it was properly coded as a “restricted case” in order to protect the privacy of victims, the software coded the incident to be excluded automatically from the daily crime log.

We want any survivor of sexual misconduct to know that we recognize and respect their pain. Prevention is our only way to end the trauma caused by sexual assault and we are dedicated to a transparent process of reporting so we can identify concrete steps that can point us to clear and beneficial solutions.

Fresno State is committed to supporting survivors and has a number of services available on campus to support our students, staff and faculty. We encourage you to reach out through the list of resources below if you have any questions, or need additional support:

Resources

Thank you,
Jamie Pontius-Hogan
Director of Title IX and Clery Compliance

James Watson
Chief of Police, Fresno State Police Department