Campus Security Authorities

Campus Security Authorities are essential partners in keeping our campus safe.

The Division of Public Safety encourages all members of the campus community to report crime. However, under the Clery Act, Campus Security Authorities (CSAs) are required to report Clery Act-qualifying crimes which occurred on campus, in public areas bordering campus and in certain non-campus buildings owned or leased by the university.

Who is a CSA?

Generally speaking, you will be informed if you fall into one of the four categories that makes you a Campus Security Authority. These are those four categories:

  • University Police Department sworn personnel and department administrators.
  • Non-police people of offices responsible for campus security. These CSAs have security presence or access control authority on university property, including, but not limited to, security guards, student patrol officers, security staff at athletic events, and student ID checkers for the Division of Campus Recreation.
  • Officials with significant responsibility for student and campus activities. (Including, but not limited to: deans, student affairs professionals, student housing staff, athletic director/assistant directors, coaches, student activities coordinators, Title IX Coordinator, student judicial officers, faculty/staff advisors to student organizations, Director of Health Center, victim advocates, and faculty/staff who lead university-sponsored student travel).
  • Any individual or organization specified in an institution’s statement of campus security policy as an individual or organization to which students and employees should report criminal offenses.

There are some position specifically exempted from being a CSA, including but not limited to: administrative and clerical staff members who are not responsible for students, individual faculty with no student activity duties outside the classroom, doctors at McKinley Health Center, and counselors in the Counseling Center who only provide care to individual students. Employees whose only responsibility is to supervise student employees generally would not be classified as a CSA unless they have other duties that fall under the qualifications described above.

Take the Training

Once identified by your campus unit as a CSA, your first step in fulfilling your federally-mandated duties is to complete the CSA training. The training is available in Canvas, but someone from our Clery Compliance team will need to assign it to you first. Submit your training request here:

    How CSAs file a report

    CSAs can fulfill their obligation by completing an online CSA report.

    Only Clery Act-qualifying crimes are required to be reported, but CSAs are encouraged to disclose all crimes reported to them on a time basis to University Police. Clery crimes are:

    • Murder/non-negligent manslaughter
    • Negligent manslaughter
    • Sex offenses (rape, fondling, incest or statutory rape)
    • Robbery
    • Burglary
    • Aggravated assault
    • Motor vehicle theft
    • Arson
    • Domestic violence
    • Dating violence
    • Stalking

    CSAs should make an attempt to gather incident information that would provide sufficient detail to properly classify the incident. Those details include:

    • Date and time of the incident
    • Location (as precise as possible)
    • Circumstances sufficient to classify the crime (we need to know what kind of crime it was)

    Sometimes the person reporting to the CSA won’t have or can’t recall all the information. That’s perfectly OK, but CSAs should still document the reporting person’s responses or lack thereof.

    CSAs should not take further steps to investigate the crime or attempt to determine whether a crime took place. When in doubt, a report form should be completed and submitted.

    When a crime is reported to a CSA, the CSA should first ask the reporting person if they would like to report it to University Police. If so, contact University Police at 217-333-1216. If the CSA has firsthand knowledge and confirmation that the reporting party filed a police report with University Police, then they are not obligated to complete and submit a CSA report. However, if the reporting party says they will file a police report with University Police, leaving the CSA with no firsthand knowledge and confirmation that a police report was filed, then the CSA must still submit a CSA Report.

    Submit a CSA report

    Only Clery Act-qualifying crimes are required to be reported, but CSAs are encouraged to disclose all crimes reported to them on a time basis to University Police.


    Can the report be anonymous?

    The university permits victims or witnesses to report crimes to CSAs on a voluntary, anonymous basis. Those anonymous reports are included in our Annual Security and Fire Safety Report crime totals.

    The identity of the reporting person should only be included in the report form if they are willing to provide it.

    While anonymous reports help us get accurate crime totals and allow us to inform our campus community of public safety issues, they cannot be investigated for criminal charges. If the reporting person wishes to pursue a criminal investigation, then they will need to provide their name and contact information to police so investigators can properly follow up.

    What to tell a reporting person

    The following is a sample of what CSAs can tell a reporting party who comes to report a crime:

    “As part of my position on campus I am a federally mandated crime reporter for the university. I am required to report of this incident to University Police for data gathering. If you request confidentiality, the report form will not include your name, or that of any other involved individuals. My report will contain only the information you provide. I also need to inform you that the information about this crime will be evaluated by the University Police to determine if there is a need for a Campus Safety Notice. Even if you decide to give your name, the Campus Safety Notice will not include any personally identifiable information about you. Do you have any questions? Would you like to help me fill it out?”

    Additionally, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign provides information on reporting options (both confidential and non-confidential) to people who have experience sexual violence and misconduct. Those resources are available at wecare.illinois.edu and a printable brochure.

    What happens with CSA reports

    University Police review CSA reports and make a determination if an incident warrants sending a timely warning or emergency notification to the community and whether it qualifies for the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. The Clery Compliance Coordinator will consolidate crime data from multiple sources, report qualifying crime data to the federal Department of Education, publish campus security reports and inform the campus community when and where Annual Security and Fire Reports are available.

    Questions?

    Contact us or send a message to dps-clery@illinois.edu with any questions about Campus Security Authorities or Clery Act compliance.