VCU’s 2024 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports – VCU News

To VCU and the VCU Health Community,

This message contains important information related to the requirements of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and the Campus Crime Statistics Act, the Clery Act. The 2024 annual safety and fire safety reports for Virginia Commonwealth University campuses in Virginia, including Monroe Park, Medical College of Virginia, Inova Fairfax, Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, Rice Rivers Center and NoVA at Poplar Run, are now available.

The 2024 editions are available here or can be accessed directly by clicking here: 2024 VCU Annual Security and Fire Safety Report for all Virginia-based campuses. The report includes site-specific campus safety information, including topics such as: campus law enforcement; Crime reporting policies and options; campus notifications (timely alerts and emergency notifications); programs to prevent dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking; the procedures the University will follow when any of these crimes are reported; fire safety policies and procedures; and other important matters related to campus safety. The report also includes three years of statistics on Clery-specific crimes reported to have occurred on campus, including on-campus residence halls; within off-campus buildings or on property owned or controlled by VCU; and on public property within or immediately adjacent to campus. It is important to remember that not all Clery incidents are ultimately verified as crimes and one incident may result in multiple Clery statistics. In addition, the VCU Monroe Park Report includes the Fire Safety Report, which provides information about fire systems, fire protection and three-year statistics regarding fires in student residences on campus.

The preparation of the annual VCU Security and Fire Safety Report is coordinated by the Clery Compliance Administrator in the VCU Integrity and Compliance Office in collaboration with VCU Police, the Health Promotion and Well-Being Center, the Office of Human Resources, and the Division of Student Affairs , Corporate Marketing and Communications, Equity and Access Services, the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, VCU Inova School of Pharmacy staff, VCU Rice Rivers Center staff and Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center.

Last year, VCU discovered errors in its 2022 Clery crime statistics. We quickly reviewed the situation and corrected the errors, but we also retained an independent third-party expert to conduct a more thorough review of our Clery processes. The expert consultant identified deficiencies in our process that required our immediate attention. Importantly, the third party determined that none of the errors were intentional. Over the past year, VCU worked with the consultant to create and implement a plan to improve our processes, which included a re-review of all reports for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 calendar years.

As part of this effort, responsibility for managing Clery compliance has been transferred to our Integrity and Compliance Office within Audit and Compliance Services and will be led by a newly created position, Clery Compliance Administrator. This role is dedicated to improving our Clery compliance efforts and maintaining processes and best practices well into the future. This year’s report reflects changes in our 2021 and 2022 statistics resulting from this remediation work. In the coming year, we will complete implementation of best practices to further improve compliance with Clery Act requirements.

You may request a paper copy from the VCU Integrity and Compliance Office (918 West Franklin St.) or the VCU Police Department (413 Flint Ave.) during normal business hours. If you have any questions about these reports or the Clery Act specifically, please contact Chad Beights, VCU Clery Act Administrator, at 804-828-4924 or email [email protected]. If you have any questions about campus safety or the VCU Police Department specifically, please contact VCU Police at 804-828-3907 or email [email protected].