Clery Crime Definitions
This page offers a comprehensive guide to the types of crimes that Columbia University reports under the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (The Clery Act). These reports shape our Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (ASFSR) and inform Timely Warning Notifications (called Clery Crime Alerts at Columbia University). Whether you’re a student, faculty, staff member, or Campus Security Authority (CSA), this resource is designed to clarify what incidents are tracked, where they’re tracked, and how they are processed.
The Daily Crime Log vs. Clery Crimes
All criminal allegations that are reported to Public Safety—occurring within our Clery Reportable Geography—are recorded in the Daily Crime Log within two business days. This includes every reported criminal incident, regardless of categorization.
From those entries, we further analyze and classify incidents that meet Clery Act definitions for statistical inclusion in the ASFSR and evaluate potential Timely Warning Notifications if they pose a serious, ongoing threat.
If an incident meets a federal Clery Act Crime definition, it will be classified as such regardless of what the crime may be under local law or how the NYPD or other police institutions have classified it.
Below, you’ll find a complete list of Clery-defined crime categories, their definitions, and some additional information that helps us determine whether an alleged reported crime fits that description or not.
Clery Crime Definitions
Murder/Manslaughter: The willful killing of one human being by another.
Negligent Manslaughter: The killing of another person through gross negligence.
Robbery: The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force and/or by putting the victim in fear.
Force, in this context, is often defined as force used to overcome the resistance of the victim. Often, if there is no resistance, there is no force.
Aggravated Assault: An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury.
This type of assault can be accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm. Aggravated injuries can include broken bones, deep lacerations, maiming, blacking out or passing out, and injuries that result in hospitalization or require medical assistance.
Any kind of poisoning is considered an aggravated assault. This includes the use of “date-rape” drugs.
Burglary: The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft.
An unlawful entry does not require “breaking in.” A person simply must be trespassing into a space to be considered unlawful entering.
A structure, in this context, is a location with walls and a ceiling. Open bike racks, vehicles, lockers, etc., are not considered structures.
Motor Vehicle Theft: The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle.
The theft must be of the entire motor vehicle. Stealing parts of a vehicle or items taken from inside a vehicle is considered a larceny.
In this context, electric bikes and electric scooters are considered motor vehicles.
Arson: Any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc.
Hazing: Any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed against a person, regardless of their willingness to participate, that is connected with initiation into, affiliation with, or maintenance of membership in an organization, and that causes or creates a risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the organization, of physical or psychological injury. More information on Columbia's definition of hazing and Columbia's Anti-Hazing Policy is available on the Stop Campus Hazing Act webpage.
Sexual Assaults
All criminal allegations that are reported to Public Safety—occurring within our Clery Reportable Geography—are recorded in the Daily Crime Log within two business days. This includes all types of sexual assaults regardless of whether they are considered Clery Crimes or not.
The following four sexual assault types are considered Clery Act Crimes for statistical inclusion in the ASFSR and evaluated for potential Timely Warning Notifications if they pose a serious, ongoing threat to the campus community.
Rape: Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.
Fondling: The touching of the private parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental incapacity.
Incest: Sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
Statutory Rape: Sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Offenses
In 2013, the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) significantly enhanced Clery Act reporting by formally adding three new crime categories: domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. These offenses must be included in our ASFSR and are considered when issuing Timely Warning Notifications. VAWA also standardized definitions for these crimes, which you can review below. Please note that these definitions are used for Clery Act purposes only. The Office of Institutional Equity, which investigates cases involving allegations of sexual assault, relationship violence and stalking, do not use these definitions in their investigations.
Domestic Violence: A felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed by—
- A current or former spouse or intimate partner of the reporting party;
- By a person with whom the reporting party shares a child in common;
- By a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the reporting party as a spouse;
- By a person similarly situated to a spouse of the reporting party under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime occurred; or,
- By any other person against an adult or youth who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime occurred.
Dating Violence: Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a romantic or intimate social relationship with the victim.
Stalking: Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or the safety of others or suffer substantial emotional distress.
A course of conduct, in this context, is defined as two or more actions, usually separated by time and/or space.
Hate Crimes
For Clery Act purposes, a hate crime is any criminal offense—including those listed above—that is motivated, in whole or in part, by bias against a protected class. These protected classes include race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, and disability.
To determine whether a report qualifies, our department carefully reviews the entire incident, its context, and all available details to ensure accurate classification.
In addition to the previously defined offenses, the following four crimes are counted as Clery Crimes only when bias motivation is evident:
Larceny/Theft: Includes, pocket picking, purse snatching, shoplifting, theft from building, theft from motor vehicle, theft of motor vehicle parts or accessories, and all other larceny.
Simple Assault: An unlawful physical attack by one person upon another where neither the offender displays a weapon, nor the victim suffers obvious severe or aggravated bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possible internal injury, severe laceration or loss of consciousness.
Intimidation: To unlawfully place another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words and/or other conduct but without displaying a weapon or subjecting the victim to actual physical attack.
Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property: To willfully or maliciously destroy, damage, deface or otherwise injure real or personal property without the consent of the owner or the person having custody or control of it.
Liquor, Drug and Weapons Law Violations
As with all criminal allegations, all reported violations of liquor, drug, and weapons laws are documented in the Daily Crime Log when they are alleged to have occurred within our Clery-reportable geography. However, when these incidents result in an arrest or a disciplinary referral, they are also classified as Clery Act crimes. As such, they must be included in the ASFSR and evaluated for potential Timely Warning Notifications. Below are the definitions and reporting guidelines for these categories of offenses.
Weapons Law Violations: The unlawful possession, carrying, manufacture, sale, or use of firearms, cutting instruments, explosives, or other deadly weapons.
Drug Law Violations: The unlawful cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, purchase, use, possession, transportation, or importation of any controlled substance as defined by federal or state law.
Liquor Law Violations: The unlawful manufacture, sale, transportation, furnishing, possession, or use of alcoholic beverages, including underage drinking and public intoxication, excluding driving under the influence and drunkenness.
Please note, all violations of drug laws, liquor laws, and weapons laws are based on the laws of the local jurisdictions.
If you have questions about Clery Crimes or their definitions please contact the Director of Clery Act Compliance by emailing [email protected].