Public Information & Resources
California Community Colleges Police Training Reform
Jeanne Clery Act
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Statistics Act of 1990 requires all colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs keep and disclose information about crime on and near their respective campuses. The Clery Act is a consumer protection law that aims to provide transparency around campus crime policy and statistics.
The law is named after Jeanne Clery, a 19-year-old Lehigh University freshman who was raped and murdered in her dorm room on April 5, 1986. Her parents later learned of 38 violent crimes on the Lehigh campus in the three years before her murder. They joined with other victims of campus crime and persuaded the United States Congress to enact this law.
Compliance with the Clery Act is monitored by the United States Department of Education, which can impose civil penalties against institutions for each infraction and can suspend institutions from participating in federal student financial aid programs.
This webpage includes Clery Act-mandated consumer protection discloses:
- The Southwestern College Police Department maintains a Daily Crime Log of all reported crimes (not just Clery Act crimes) on the District's campuses or within the Police Department's normal patrol jurisdiction.
- A listing of crime disposition definitions used in the Daily Crime Log.
- The Annual Security Report, which must be published by October 1st and include Clery crime statistics for the prior three calendar years.
Southwestern College Police Procedure Manual
The Southwestern College Police Procedure Manual can be accessed here.
College Police Officers are sworn peace officers in compliance with the California Education Code 72330 and the California Penal code 830.32(a). They receive the same core training as all peace officers in San Diego County and in the State of California. They have enforcement authority on or about the campus, which is to enforce federal and state laws as well as institutional policies. College Police Officers also have jurisdiction to operate on Southwestern Community College District owned or controlled property, adjacent properties and public streets, and ultimately throughout the State of California in cooperation with other government agencies and mutual aid situations. College Police Officers have the authority to make arrests on and around the campuses of the Southwestern Community College District and throughout the State of California. The College Police Department employs Campus Service Officers and Public Safety Assistants who are non-sworn members. Campus Service Officers and Public Safety Assistants perform security and parking functions and are tasked with reporting crimes, suspicious activity, and other public safety concerns.