The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (The Clery Act) requires all institutions of higher education to provide students and employees with information about their security policies and procedures and statistics on reported incidents of certain crimes ("Clery Crimes")..
Harvard’s annual statistics include Clery Crimes that occurred on Harvard’s campus, in or on non-campus buildings or property, or on public property, as those terms are defined in the Clery Act (Harvard’s Clery Geography.) The Clery Act defines those terms as follows:
- 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.
- Non-campus building or property - (1) Any building or property owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by the institution; or (2) 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.
- 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.
In addition to its Cambridge and Longwood campuses, Harvard University also maintains five additional campuses:
- Arnold Arboretum – Boston, Massachusetts
- Concord Field Station – Bedford, Massachusetts
- Harvard Forest – Petersham, Massachusetts
- Center for Hellenic Studies – Nafplion, Greece
- David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies – Santiago, Chile
To learn more about the University's Clery geography, please review the Clery Geography Maps webpage.
The annual crime statistics report includes information requested and obtained from the following sources in addition to the HUPD: Cambridge Police, Boston Police, Massachusetts State Police, Somerville Police, police departments in other jurisdictions where applicable, and non-police Campus Security Authorities. “Campus security authorities” are defined by federal regulation as university officials who have “significant responsibility for student and campus activities, including, but not limited to, student housing, student discipline, and campus judicial proceedings.” For statistical purposes, crime statistics reported to any of these sources are recorded in the calendar year the crime was reported. A written request for statistical information is made on an annual basis to all Campus Security Authorities. Reporting for the purposes of the Clery Act does not require initiating an investigation or disclosing identifying information about the reporting victim.
All of the statistics are gathered, compiled, and reported to the University community via this report, which is published by HUPD. HUPD submits the annual crime statistics published in this brochure to the U.S. Department of Education. The statistical information gathered by the Department of Education is available to the public on its website. The statistical information gathered by the Department of Education is available to the public on its website.