Pennsylvania Act 1988-73 — COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY SECURITY INFORMATION ACT - REPEALED

Act text

COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY SECURITY INFORMATION ACT - REPEALED
                  Act of May 26, 1988, P.L. 448, No. 73               Cl. 24
                                  AN ACT

     Requiring institutions of higher education to provide students
        and employees with information relating to crime statistics
        and security measures and to provide similar information to
        prospective students and employees upon request; granting
        powers to the State Board of Education; and providing for
        penalties.

        The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
     hereby enacts as follows:

     Section 1.  Short title.
        This act shall be known and may be cited as the College and
     University Security Information Act.
     Section 2.  Definitions.
        The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
     have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
     context clearly indicates otherwise:
        "Branch campus."  A branch campus is a unit of an institution
     of higher education which is distinguished by all of the
     following characteristics:
            (1)  An academic degree-granting program or organized
        parts thereof offered on a continuing basis.
            (2)  Location separately identifiable from the main
        campus of the parent institution and providing the services
        normally associated with the campus.
            (3)  Legal authority for governance, administration and
        general operation derived from the charter or enabling
        legislation of the parent institution or of the State System
        of Higher Education.
        "Campus police."  Employees of an institution of higher
     education who exercise powers of arrest under authority of law
     or ordinance. (def. added Oct. 13, 1994, P.L.591, No.87)
        "Campus security officers."  Employees of an institution of
     higher education, other than campus police, who are charged with
     maintaining the safety and security of the property of the
     institutions and the persons on the property. (def. added Oct.
     13, 1994, P.L.591, No.87)
        "Community colleges."  Institutions now or hereafter created
     pursuant to Article XIX-A of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30,
     No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, or the act of
     August 24, 1963 (P.L.1132, No.484), known as the Community
     College Act of 1963.
        "Independent institution of higher education."  An
     institution of higher education which is operated not for
     profit, located in and incorporated or chartered by the
     Commonwealth, entitled to confer degrees as set forth in section
     211 of the act of May 5, 1933 (P.L.289, No.105), known as the
     Nonprofit Corporation Law, and entitled to apply to itself the
     designation "college" or "university" as provided for by
     standards and qualifications prescribed by the State Board of
     Education pursuant to the act of May 7, 1937 (P.L.585, No.150),
     entitled, as amended, "An act prohibiting the use of the
     designation of 'college' by any institution not conforming to
     the standards of a college prescribed by the State Board of
     Education; and providing for injunctions, and penalties."
        "Institution of higher education."  An independent
     institution of higher education, a community college, a State-
     owned institution or a State-related institution, any of which
     is approved by the Department of Education.
        "Investigative information."  Information that is assembled
     as a result of the performance of any formal or informal inquiry
     into a criminal incident or an allegation of criminal
     wrongdoing. The term may include modus operandi information.
     (def. added Oct.13, 1994 P.L.591, No.87)
        "State-owned institutions."  Those institutions which are
     part of the State System of Higher Education pursuant to Article
     XX-A of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the
     Public School Code of 1949.
        "State-related institutions."  The Pennsylvania State
     University, the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University and
     Lincoln University and their branch campuses.
        "Student housing."  All residence halls and sorority and
     fraternity residences owned or under the control of the
     institution of higher education.
        "Valid complaint."  Any complaint received by a campus police
     or campus security department which results in an investigation
     or for which an entry is made in an incident report, log or
     blotter. (def. added Oct. 13, 1994, P.L.591, No.87)
     Section 3.  Crime statistics and security policies and
                    procedures.
        (a)  Crime statistics reports.--Each institution of higher
     education shall report to the Pennsylvania State Police, on an
     annual basis, crime statistics for publication in Crime in
     Pennsylvania (Uniform Crime Report) on forms and in the format
     required by the Pennsylvania State Police.
        (b)  Publishing and distributing reports.--Each institution
     of higher education shall publish and distribute a report which
     shall be updated annually and which shall include the crime
     statistics as reported under subsection (a) for the most recent
     three-year period. Crime rates shall also be included in the
     report. The crime rates reported shall be based on the numbers
     and categories of crimes reported under subsection (a) and the
     number of full-time equivalent undergraduate and graduate
     students (FTES) and full-time equivalent employees at the
     institution of higher education. Upon request, the institution
     shall provide the report to every person who submits an
     application for admission to either a main or branch campus and
     to each new employee at the time of employment. In its
     acknowledgment of receipt of the formal application of
     admission, the institution shall notify the applicant of the
     availability of such information. The information shall also be
     provided on an annual basis to all students and employees.
     Institutions with more than one campus shall provide the
     required information on a campus-by-campus basis.
        (b.1)  Daily logs and public records.--The campus police or
     campus security officers of each institution of higher education
     shall develop and maintain a daily log as a public record.
     Entries in the log shall be chronologically recorded in a manner
     that can be easily understood and shall include the following:
            (1)  A report of each valid complaint and all reports of
        crimes received by the campus police or campus security
        officers and the responses thereto. Except as provided in
        paragraph (2), names and addresses shall not be included in
        the daily log. This prohibition need not preclude the use of
        words, numbers, phrases or other similar index keys in the
        logs to serve as indices to investigative information.
            (2)  The names and addresses of persons arrested and
        charged and the charges filed against those persons.
            (3)  A description of the disposition of the charges
        filed under paragraph (2), to be entered when and if
        reasonably available.
        ((b.1) added Oct. 13, 1994, P.L.591, No.87)
        (b.2)  Arrests by State, county or local police.--For arrests
     made by State, county or local police on campuses of
     institutions of higher education, the applicable police
     department shall provide to the institution of higher education
     without cost the names and addresses of persons arrested and the
     charges filed against those persons for inclusion in the daily
     logs required under this act. ((b.2) added Oct. 13, 1994,
     P.L.591, No.87)
        (b.3)  Information concerning juveniles.--Nothing in this act
     shall be construed to apply to information concerning juveniles,
     except as provided in 18 Pa.C.S. § 9123 (relating to juvenile
     records), unless they have been adjudicated as adults. ((b.3)
     added Oct. 13, 1994, P.L.591, No.87)
        (b.4)  Entries to be public records.--All entries in the
     daily logs shall, except as provided in subsection (b.3) and as
     otherwise provided by law, be public records available without
     cost for examination and inspection by the public during regular
     business hours and at all other reasonable times. The
     institutions of higher education may charge a reasonable fee for
     the cost of copies, photographs or photostats. ((b.4) added Oct.
     13, 1994, P.L.591, No.87)
        (c)  Security policies and procedures.--Each institution of
     higher education shall provide to every person who submits an
     application for admission to a main or branch campus, to every
     new employee at the time of employment, and annually to all
     students and employees information regarding the institution's
     security policies and procedures. Institutions with a main
     campus and one or more branch campuses shall provide the
     information on a campus-by-campus basis. Such information for
     the most recent school year shall include, but not be limited
     to, the following:
            (1)  The number of undergraduate and graduate students
        enrolled.
            (2)  The number of undergraduate and graduate students
        living in student housing.
            (3)  The total number of nonstudent employees working on
        the campus.
            (4)  The administrative office responsible for security
        on the campus.
            (5)  A description of the type and number of security
        personnel utilized by the institution, including a
        description of their training.
            (6)  The enforcement authority of security personnel,
        including their working relationship with State and local
        police agencies.
            (7)  Policy on reporting criminal incidents to State and
        local police.
            (8)  Policy regarding access to institutional facilities
        and programs by students, employees, guests and other
        individuals.
            (9)  Procedures and facilities for students and others to
        report criminal actions or other emergencies occurring on
        campus and policies concerning the institution's response to
        such reports.
            (10)  A statement of policy regarding the possession, use
        and sale of alcoholic beverages.
            (11)  A statement of policy regarding the possession, use
        and sale of illegal drugs.
            (12)  A statement of policy regarding the possession and
        use of weapons by security personnel and any other person.
            (13)  Any policy regarding students or employees with
        criminal records.
            (14)  Security considerations used in the maintenance of
        campus facilities, including landscaping, groundskeeping and
        outdoor lighting.
            (15)  A description of the communication mediums used to
        inform the campus community about security matters as well as
        the frequency with which the information is usually provided.
        (d)  Information in security policies.--Institutions which
     maintain student housing facilities shall include in the
     information required by subsection (c) the following:
            (1)  Types of student housing available (on-campus, off-
        campus; single room, double, group; single sex, coed;
        undergraduate, graduate, married; etc.).
            (2)  Policies on housing assignments and requests by
        students for assignment changes.
            (3)  Policies concerning the identification and admission
        of visitors in student housing facilities.
            (4)  Measures to secure entrances to student housing
        facilities.
            (5)  Standard security features used to secure doors and
        windows in students' rooms.
            (6)  A description of the type and number of employees,
        including security personnel, assigned to the student housing
        facilities which shall include a description of their
        security training.
            (7)  The type and frequency of programs designed to
        inform student housing residents about housing security and
        enforcement procedures.
            (8)  Policy and any special security procedures for
        housing students during low-occupancy periods such as
        holidays and vacation periods.
            (9)  Policy on the housing of guests and others not
        assigned to the student housing or not regularly associated
        with the institution of higher education.
     Section 4.  Rules and regulations.
        The State Board of Education may, in the manner provided by
     law, promulgate the rules and regulations necessary to carry out
     this act.
     Section 5.  Enforcement.
        (a)  Action to compel compliance.--Whenever the Attorney
     General has reason to believe that an institution of higher
     education is violating this act, the Attorney General may bring
     an action in the name of the Commonwealth against the
     institution to compel compliance.
        (b)  Civil penalty.--In any action brought by the Attorney
     General to compel compliance with this act, if the court finds
     that an institution of higher education is willfully violating
     this act or if any institution of higher education fails to
     promptly comply with an order of the court to comply with this
     act, the Attorney General, acting in the name of the
     Commonwealth, may recover on behalf of the Commonwealth a civil
     penalty not to exceed $10,000.
     Section 6.  Effective date.
        This act shall take effect as follows:
            (1)  Section 4 of this act shall take effect immediately.
            (2)  The remainder of this act shall take effect in six
        months.