Definitions

GENERAL DEFINITIONS

Annual Fire Safety Report – A published report that contains policy statements as well as fire statistics associated with each on-campus student housing facility, including the number of fires, cause of fires, injuries, deaths and property damage.

Annual Security Report – A published report that contains safety- and security-related policy statements and crime statistics.

Campus Security Authority (CSA) – There are four categories of CSAs, as defined by the Clery Act:

• A campus police department or a campus security department of an institution.
• Any individual or individuals who have responsibility for campus security but who do not constitute a campus police department or a campus security department (e.g., an individual who is responsible for monitoring the entrance into institutional property).
• 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.
• An official of an institution who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities, including, but not limited to, student housing, student discipline and campus judicial proceedings. An official is defined as any person who has the authority and the duty to take action or respond to particular issues on behalf of the institution.

Crime Log –  The purpose of the daily crime log is to record all criminal incidents and alleged criminal incidents that are reported to UFPD or any UF security department.

Emergency Notification – In the event of a significant emergency or dangerous situation occurring on the campus that involves an immediate threat to the health or safety of students, faculty, and staff an UF Alert-Emergency Notification will be issued.

Fire Log – The purpose of the fire log is to record any fire that occurs in an on-campus student housing facility.

Geography – As the Clery Act requires institutions to discloses statistics for reported crimes based on where the crimes occurred, Clery geography is broken down in to three specific geographical categories:

• On-campus
  • On-campus Student Housing Facilities
• Noncampus property or buildings
• Public Property

Timely Warning – In the event of a serious or continuing threat to students, faculty, and staff that is reported to a campus security authority an UF Alert-Timely Warning will be issued.

Federal Regulations

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (The Clery Act) – The goal of this federal law is to ensure that students, prospective students, parents and employees have access to accurate information about crimes committed on campuses, campus security procedures and information, as well as information about prevention programming. The Clery Act requires institutions of higher education that receive federal financial aid (Title IV) to report statistics on specified crimes on or near college campuses and to provide other safety and crime information to members of the campus community.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) – The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) amendments were added to the Clery Act in 2013. The crimes defined by VAWA include sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking, and must be accounted for and jointly responded to by the Office of Clery Act Compliance and the Title IX Coordinator. The VAWA amendments to the Clery Act require that institutions create and publish statements of policy regarding how they will handle VAWA crimes which are reported to university officials. Intuitional officials who investigate, coordinate hearings and adjudicate VAWA crimes for the university are required to participate in VAWA-specific training on at least an annual basis to ensure these cases are handled with the utmost care. The VAWA amendments also require institutions to offer a variety of prevention programs for students and staff which aim to prevent sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking.

Campus Sexual Assault Victim’s Bill of Rights (34 C.F.R. §668.46(b)(11)) – A statement of policy regarding UF’s programs to prevent dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and of procedures that UF will follow when one of these crimes is reported. The statement of policy and procedures UF will follow can be found in the UF Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports, along with the Written Explanation of Rights and Options.

Title IX – Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded educational programs and activities. Under Title IX, universities are required to respond to reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which enforces Title IX, has recently provided detailed guidance on how educational institutions, like the University of Florida, must investigate and respond to complaints of sexual assault and sexual harassment.

DEFINITIONS OF CRIMES

Criminal Offenses

Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter – The willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another.

Manslaughter by Negligence – The killing of another person through gross negligence.

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. This offense includes the rape of both males and females.

Fondling – The touching of the private body 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.

Robbery – The taking of attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.

Aggravated Assault – An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault is usually accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm.

Burglary – Unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft.

Motor Vehicle Theft – The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle.

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.

Hate Crimes

Hate Crime –  A criminal offense that manifests evidence that the victim was intentionally selected because of the perpetrator’s bias against the victim.

Categories of bias:

Race – A preformed negative attitude toward a group of persons who possess common physical characteristics, e.g. color of skin, eyes, and/or hair; facial features, etc., genetically transmitted by descent and heredity which distinguish them as a distinct division or humankind, e.g., Asians, blacks or African Americans, whites.

Religion – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons who share the same religious beliefs regarding the origin and purpose of the universe and the existence or nonexistence of a supreme being, e.g., Catholics, Jews, Protestants, atheists.

Sexual Orientation – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation.

Gender – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based on their actual or perceived gender, e.g., male or female.

Gender Identity – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based on their actual or perceived gender identity, e.g., bias against transgender or gender non-conforming individuals.

Ethnicity – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, common culture (often including a shared religion) and/or ideology that stresses common ancestry.

National Origin – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of people based on their actual or perceived country of birth.

Disability – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their physical or mental impairments, whether such disability is temporary or permanent, congenital or acquired by heredity, accident, injury, advanced age or illness.

Offenses motivated by bias

In addition to the following offenses, the below defined offenses are included only if they are a hate crime: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, and arson

Larceny-Theft – the unlawful taking, carrying, leading or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another.

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.

VAWA Offenses

Domestic Violence – Felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed by:

• a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim; or
• by a person whom the victim shares a child in common; or
• by a person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the victim as a spouse or intimate partner; or
• by a partner similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred; or
• by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred

Dating Violence – Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim. The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the reporting party’s statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship. This includes but is not limited to sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse. This does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence

Stalking – Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person –

• fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others; or
• suffer substantial emotional distress

Arrests and Referrals for Disciplinary Action

Weapon Law Violations – Violation of laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, concealment, or use of firearms, cutting instruments, explosives, incendiary devices or other deadly weapons. This classification encompasses weapons and offenses that are regulatory in nature

Drug Related Violations – Violation of laws prohibiting the production, distribution and/or use of certain controlled substances and the equipment or devices utilized in their preparation and/or use. The unlawful cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, purchase, use, possession, transportation or importation of any controlled drug or narcotic substance. Arrests for violations of state and local laws, specifically those relating to the unlawful possession, sale, use, growing, manufacturing and making of narcotic drugs

Liquor Law Violations – Violation of state or local laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession or use of alcoholic beverages, not including driving under the influence and drunkenness

Clery Geography

The Clery Act requires institutions to disclose statistics for reported crimes based on where the crimes occurred. Clery geography is broken down in to three specific geographical categories: On-campus and On-campus Student Housing Facilities, Noncampus property or buildings, and Public Property.

Additionally, institutions that have more than one campus must meet all of the same requirements for each separate campus. 34 CFR 668.46(c)(4)

On-Campus

Any building or property owned or controlled by an institution within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area and used by the institution in direct support of, or in a manner related to, the institution’s educational purposes, including residence halls; and any building or property that is within or reasonably contiguous to the area identified in paragraph (i) of this definition, that is owned by the institution but controlled by another person, is frequently used by students, and supports institutional purposes (such as a food or other retail vendor). 34 CFR 668.46(a)

On-campus Student Housing Facilities

Any student housing facility that is owned or controlled by the institution, or is located on property that is owned or controlled by the institution, and is within the reasonably contiguous geographic area that makes up the campus is considered an on-campus student housing facility. 34 CFR 668.41(a)

Noncampus property or buildings

Any building or property owned or controlled by a student organization officially recognized by the institution; or any building or property owned or controlled by an institution that is used in direct support of, or in relation to, the institution’s educational purposes, is frequently used by students, and is not within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area of the institution. 34 CFR 668.46(a)

Public Property

All public property, including thoroughfares, streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities, that is within the campus, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus. 34 CFR 668.46(a)

Separate Campus

A location of an institution that is geographically apart and independent of the main campus of the institution. A location of an institution is considered independent of the main campus if the location is permanent in nature, offers courses in educational programs leading to a degree or other recognized educational credential, has its own faculty and administrative or supervisory organization, and has its own budgetary and hiring authority. 34 CFR 600.2