Annual crime and safety reporting data released by the university earlier this month reflects a change in how the ACU Police Department is handling alcohol violations and an off-campus assault incident from last year.

ACU Police released the 2024 Annual Security, Crime Statistics, and Fire Safety Report, which covers statistics from 2021-23. The report is available on the ACU Police Department webpage as well as at Security/Crime Statistics; Fire Safety Report.

The Clery report includes an aggravated assault in 2023. Four men jumped another man at an off-campus house owned by the university, said ACU Police Chief Jason Ellis.

“So that’s why it looks like it’s ACU residence or our property, and for Clery purposes, we have to include residences that are owned by ACU,” he said.

Ellis said the victim suffered minor head injuries, and described it as a minor case.

The report also shows an increase in referrals from liquor and drug violations compared to previous years. However, the arrests for liquor and drug violations has decreased, Ellis said.

“Clery also calls citations arrests,” Ellis said. “If you see two years ago we had nine arrests for liquor, I don’t think any of those were actual arrests they were just citations.”

Instead of writing citations for liquor law violations, Ellis said the police department has started referring those cases to the Office of Student Life. Students disciplined by the university for alcohol violations take a course and face other potential punishments.

“We look at better ways to educate them and inform students about the dangers of alcohol and drugs so they can make better decisions moving forward,” Ellis said.

The Clery Act, known as the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act, was passed in 1990. 

It was named after Jeanne Ann Clery, a Lehigh University freshman who was sexually assaulted and murdered in 1986. Her parents campaigned for the law after finding out students weren’t told about the crimes on campus.

The Clery Act is a federal law that requires colleges to report crime statistics, and it applies to all U.S. universities that receive Title IV funding. Institutions that violate the Clery Act are fined by the U.S. Department of Education. To learn more about the Clery Act visit the Clery Center website.

“It’s kind of like a consumer protection law so that you as a parent or you as a student are educated about the school you go to, and if it’s safe or not,” said Sgt. Chad LaPrelle said.

He also said every state has different definitions of what a crime is and how it is categorized. Clery has set a standard across the nation.

“What they’ve tried to do is make it more universal, easier to use language,” LaPrelle said. 

The standard that Clery uses and the Texas Penal Code are different. The aggravated assault case in 2023 would have been considered a minor assault under the Penal Code, Ellis said.