Crime Statistics Reporting
Campus Crime Statistic Reporting Policies
Preventing crime and protecting life and property on campus is a priority. To maintain and provide accurate information, under the federal Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1992, amended in 1998, and Massachusetts General Law Chapter 6, Section 168C, the Department of Public Safety documents reports of crimes that occur on campus according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting (NIBRS edition) Hate Crime Data collection guidelines and standards.
The Department submits its Clery Crime data to the Department of Education Web site. Data from our institution and others throughout the U.S. is available online.
Additional crime reports are forwarded monthly to the Massachusetts State Police Crime Reporting unit that then forwards them to the FBI. A copy of these statistics, which are contained in the annual security report, are available by request to every prospective Mount Holyoke student and prospective employee from the Department of Public Safety during normal business hours. Finally, an accounting of all felonies occurring on campus is forwarded to the Colonel of the State Police on a monthly basis.
As a crime prevention measure, the Department of Public Safety’s policy is to provide as much information as possible to inquiries about campus crime. The daily Public Safety police logs detail calls (including nature of the calls, dates, times, general locations, and dispositions, if known), responses, and incident reports for crimes that occur on campus or within the patrol jurisdiction of the Department of Public Safety that are reported. When changes in incident case statuses are known, the log will reflect such changes within two business days. In instances where the release of information would result in an adverse effect—such as jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation or the safety of an individual, affect an individual’s right to privacy, cause a suspect to flee or evade detection, or result in the destruction of evidence—information will not be released. However, once the adverse effect is no longer likely to occur, information will be released in the daily log consistent with existing state and federal laws.
Crimes in or on Non-Campus Buildings or Property
The College does not recognize any student organizations that control or own any buildings or property off campus. Although the Village Commons Retail Center is owned by Mount Holyoke College, it is within the jurisdiction of the South Hadley Police Department. Crime statistics for this area are contained in the complete town statistics listed on the next two pages. Campus crime statistics include incidents that occurred at non-campus property. This property includes the Outing Club Cabin, Mary Lyon’s Birthplace and the Crew Team storage facility in the local area as well as property the College has control of in international locations. The international properties are used for housing and are associated with study abroad programs.
