Landmark Settlement in NY Campus Crime Reporting Case Will Bring Added Accountability, Better Crime Reporting
NEW YORK, NY - New York state Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday announced an agreement with Dominican College under which the school will reform its current system of reporting on-campus crimes in order to ensure accuracy. The agreement with Dominican requires the college to reform their reporting policies, as well as pay $20,000 to New York State. In addition to the agreement with Dominican, Attorney General Cuomo issued a letter to every college and university in New York State, alerting them that underreporting crime statistics violates state law.
"When a college underreports crime statistics they put their students at risk," said Attorney General Cuomo. "Students and their families deserve an honest assessment of any potential dangers on campus, in order to protect themselves and make informed decisions regarding their own safety. Today's agreement with Dominican is a step in the right direction, and my Office is committed to ensuring that colleges statewide take steps to ensure that their crime statistics are accurate."
The agreement stems from an investigation by Cuomo's office into a complaint that Dominican, a private institution in the Hudson Valley with nearly two thousand students, was falsely reporting its campus crime statistics relating to sexual assaults. The federal Jeanne Clery Act requires colleges and universities to disclose campus security policies, as well as three years worth of crime statistics to current and prospective students.
The complaint against Dominican was sparked by the on-campus sexual assault of freshman Megan Wright in 2006. Attorney General Cuomo's investigation found that over the course of several years, Dominican had erroneously reported the number of crimes that occurred on campus in their student handbook. It also found that Dominican did not have adequate procedures in place to ensure accurate reporting.
"As far as we know, this is the first time in the nation that an attorney general has launched such an investigation and has reached a settlement, which requires accurate reports of crime statistics in the future," said victim's rights attorney Gloria Allred who represents Megan Wright's mother, Cynthia McGrath, in a civil lawsuit against the College.
"I know I speak for Meg as well as for myself when I say I am hopeful that, by raising awareness about this important issue and insisting on strict compliance of campus reporting of crime statistics ... that someone else's daughter and sister will be saved," added McGrath.
The agreement executed with Dominican College requires the school to make the following reforms, as well as pay $20,000 to New York State:
- Require all employees responsible for campus security to attend a training program regarding crime reporting issues including the classification and definition of crimes, the collection of crime reports, timely warning requirements and annual disclosure requirements;
- Designate officials to oversee and coordinate the collection of all campus crime reports to ensure that they are properly categorized and maintained to create an accurate crime report;
- Designate officials to ensure that crime statistics are accurately published in the annual campus crime report; and
- And, designate an official who is responsible for ensuring that grievance procedures are in place for students.
Jonathan Kassa, Executive Director of Security On Campus, Inc., said, "We thank Attorney General Cuomo for taking this very meaningful step to ensure that all students in New York are informed about the safety of their college campuses. Parents sending their children to school have a right to know whether the environment is safe, and young people who are leaving home, in most instances for the first time, should be accurately informed about the safety of their school. We commend the Attorney General for highlighting this important issue for all parents, students, schools and public agencies."
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