Audits of University Compliance With Clery Act, Incident-Reporting System Appear to Go Well

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Recently, the University of Arkansas underwent two audits from federal agencies — one reviewing the university’s compliance with the Clery Act and a second looking at the University Police Department’s reporting with regard to the National Incident-Based Reporting System — and the auditors from both programs were complimentary of the university’s systems and policies.

“We were randomly selected for these two reviews,” said Steve Gahagans, director of the University of Arkansas Police Department. “And although we won’t have their full reports back for several months, I want to thank the staff of the police department and the many campus representatives who helped provide information to the auditors and make these audits successful.”

 To check the Clery Act compliance, two auditors from the federal Department of Education reviewed the policies and procedures that the university uses regarding the Clery Act, which requires that university campuses provide public information and statistics about the number of crimes committed on the campus as well as policies regarding security measures and procedures for investigation and prosecution of offenses. The Clery Act also requires timely notification to members of campus whenever a crime represents a threat to the safety of students or employees.

The University of Arkansas Police Department publishes this information each year on the UAPD website. The department also sends notification to students and employees whenever potential threats have been identified on campus.

Representatives from other university departments who provided information for the Clery Act audit included Monica Holland from the office of community standards and student ethics, Teresa Williamson from the housing office, and Ed Mink from the Pat Walker Health Center.

For the review of compliance with the National Incident-Based Reporting System, the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent two of its agents from the Quality Assurance Program of the Division of Criminal Justice Information Services in West Virginia. They reviewed the university’s policies and procedures for collecting and reporting crimes in a manner that is uniform with other reporting agencies.

The Quality Assurance Program selects a state and several organizations randomly in that state about every three years, and the university was among the Arkansas organizations selected this year.

Many officers and dispatchers in the University Police Department helped provide information, equipment and working space for the audit of the incident-based reporting system. A technology team led by Lt. Vance Rice and Sgt. Gregory Foster set up computers and installed software for the auditing team. A hospitality team led by Sgt. Michael Oakes, officer Jennifer Sibley and dispatcher Nicholas Sisti arranged for a working room and procured refreshments for the auditors. An information team made up of dispatchers Debbie McKinney, Stephanie Adams, Ashley McCarty, Kassie Turner and Nicholas Sisti printed and reviewed cases as well as reviewing the departments daily crime logs for the entire 2008 year.

“These reviews would not have been possible except for the teamwork and assistance from these people,” Gahagans said. “They make our department and the University of Arkansas look as good as we know it is. They did a great job!”