Clery Act Compliance

Emergency Notifications are issued for any significant emergency or dangerous situation occurring on campus that involves an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees. The types of emergencies that may initiate a TechAlert include but are not limited to: an approaching hurricane or other extreme weather condition; a structure fire; an outbreak of a serious contagious illness; a natural disaster; gas leak; active shooter or armed intruder; a bomb threat; civil unrest or rioting; an explosion; a terrorist incident; a nearby chemical or hazardous materials spill; or a significant impact power outage. The purpose of emergency notifications is to provide life-saving information and instructions during an active emergency situation.

Please see the Clery Crimes and Clery Geography sections below to learn about crimes that should be reported by CSAs.

In your role as a CSA, if you witness or are told of an incident that is possibly criminal and is related to Forsyth Tech, please report it. You do not need to determine if the incident meets the Clery crime and Clery geography definitions. The Clery Compliance Officer will assess the information provided in the report.

For emergencies or crimes in progress, please contact the Campus Police Department by dialing (336) 734-7911 or 7-9-1-1 from an office phone or landline service or call 9-1-1. 

CSAs can use the CSA Reporting Form to report alleged Clery Act crimes.

A hate crime is a criminal offense that manifests evidence that the victim was intentionally selected because of the perpetrator’s bias against the victim. Categories of bias are race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, and disability. In addition to the primary criminal offenses listed above, the following crimes are also classified as hate crimes when there is evidence that the offense was committed with bias against the victim –

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: 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.

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 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.

Domestic Violence: A felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed by:

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

Stalking: Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others or suffer substantial emotional distress.

Sexual Assault: An offense that meets the definition of rape, fondling, statutory rape, or incest as used in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Per the National Incident-Based Reporting System User Manual from the FBI UCR Program, a sex offense is “any sexual act directed against another person, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent.”

Any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a person (whether individually or in concert with other persons) against another person or persons regardless of the willingness of such other person or persons to participate, that –

1. is committed in the course of an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, a student organization; and
2. causes or creates a risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the institution of higher education or the organization (such as the physical preparation necessary for participation in an athletic team), of physical or psychological injury including –
   1. whipping, beating, striking, electronic shocking, placing of a harmful substance on someone’s body, or similar activity;
   2. causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement in a small space, extreme calisthenics, or other similar activity;
   3. causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing another person to consume food, liquid, alcohol, drugs, or other substances;
   4. causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing another person to perform sexual acts;
   5. any activity that places another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words or conduct;
   6. any activity against another person that includes a criminal violation of local, State, Tribal, or Federal law; and
   7. any activity that induces, causes, or requires another person to perform a duty or task that involves a criminal violation of local, State, Tribal, or Federal law.

An arrest for Clery Act purposes is defined as persons processed by arrest, citation, or summons. A disciplinary referral is the referral of any person to any campus official who initiates a disciplinary action of which a record is kept and which may result in the imposition or a sanction.

Weapons Law Violations: The 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 offenses that are regulatory in nature.

Drug Abuse Violations: The 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: The 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 or drunkenness.

Any building or property owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by Forsyth Tech; or any building or property owned or controlled by Forsyth Tech that is used in direct support of, or in relation to, the college’s educational purposes, is frequently used by students, and is not within the same reasonable contiguous geographic area of the institution.

All public property, including thoroughfares, streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities, that is within the campus, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus. This property is owned by a public entity, such as a city or state government.