What is a CSA?
A Campus Security Authority (CSA) is a student, employee, volunteer, or an individual contracted by the University who is mandated to report Clery Act qualifying crimes that occurred on campus, in public areas bordering campus and in certain non-campus buildings owned or controlled (leased) by the university.
What makes you a CSA?
The law defines four categories of CSAs:
- UIS Police Department sworn personnel and department administrators.
- Non-police people of offices responsible for campus security. These CSAs have security presence or access control authority on university property.
- Officials with significant responsibility for student and campus activities. An Official is defined as any person who has the authority and the duty to take action or respond to particular issues on behalf of the University. To determine which individuals are CSAs, consider job functions that involve relationships with students. If someone has significant responsibility for student and campus activities, s/he is a CSA. Some examples of CSAs in this category include, but are not limited to: deans, student affairs professionals, student housing staff, athletic director/assistant directors, coaches, student activities coordinators, and faculty/staff advisors to student organizations.
- Any individual or organization specified in an institution’s statement of campus security policy as an individual or organization to which students and employees should report criminal offenses.
Who is not a CSA?
The following non-CSA positions/functions include but are not limited to: administrative staff members who are not responsible for students, clerical staff, individual faculty with no student activity duties outside the classroom, or counselors in the Counseling Center who only provide care to individual students. Employees whose only responsibility is to supervise student employees generally would not be classified as a CSA unless they have other duties that fall under the qualifications described above.
CSA Crime Reporting
CSAs are encouraged to report all crimes reported to them, on a timely basis, to UIS police. However, under the Clery Act, only Clery Act qualifying crimes are required to be reported. The CSA Crime Reporting Form is submitted to the Campus Police Department online. CSAs should only report those crimes in which they have first-hand knowledge that they have not been previously reported to UIS Police or another UIS CSA.
If the reported crime is made in good faith, meaning that there is reasonable basis for believing that the information is not mere rumor, then the crime is Clery reportable. CSAs, when interacting with the crime reporting party, need to gather incident information that would provide sufficient detail to properly classify the incident. This means CSAs need to document reporting party responses or lack thereof. Reporting party identifying information should only be included in the Report Form if the reporting party is willing to provide the information. CSAs should not investigate the crime or attempt to determine whether a crime actually took place. When in doubt, a Report Form should be completed and submitted.
To report an incident on the UIS campus please fill out the Clery CSA Reporting Form A as soon as the crime becomes known to you.
If a CSA has no Clery Act crimes reported to them during a calendar year, they must fill out the Clery CSA Reporting Form B no later than Jan. 31 of the new calendar year (Example: If no crimes were reported to you in 2022, you must fill out Form B by Jan. 31, 2023).