Why is making me, a normal employee, responsible for reporting the crime necessary?
The intent of including non-law enforcement personnel as CSAs is to acknowledge that many individuals,
students in particular, are hesitant about reporting crimes to the police; they may, however, be inclined to
report incidents to campus affiliated individuals with which they feel comfortable due to their direct
relationship. By having this extra layer, the ability to obtain information concerning crimes on campus is greatly
improved. Having accurate crime statistics will help the University know what prevention and safety awareness
programs are needed and allow the UNL Police Department to best use its resources for crime prevention.
How soon do I need to report an incident? What if I forget?
Reports of any incidents that you receive should be forwarded as soon as possible, either through a call, email or
direct contact with University Police, or via an electronic report. However, some incidents still may not get
reported (i.e. it was felt to be too minor to report at the time or the CSA just didn’t get to it). In January of every
year, a request for crime reports will be sent to all CSAs (annual verification). At this time, you can complete a
Clery Act Crime Survey Form and provide information on any incidents reported to you in the previous calendar
year. If you reported the incidents as they occurred, your obligation to report is complete; you simply need to
check the appropriate box on the electronic form as a way to provide verification that all reports were handled
as appropriate.
How do I handle a serious crime, such as sexual assault or domestic violence?
First of all, you need to make sure that you are there to support the victim. You must let the victim know that
you will help them contact the UNL Police or any other UNL official (Dean of Students, Title IX Coordinator, etc.)
if they so choose. The victim should be encouraged to report the incident to the UNL Police, however, they
should not be pushed. They should also be encouraged to receive help from victim’s services or some other
form of counseling service, and to contact University officials so that they can take the appropriate action. You
may want to suggest the need to be checked out at a health care facility, and that they not bathe or change
clothes or do any cleaning up prior to receiving medical assistance in order to preserve evidence. It is important
to provide information on where they can go for medical assistance and the location of victim’s services (UNL
has a number of pamphlets for this purpose).
Do I need to look into an incident and investigate to see if it really happened before I report it?
No, and you should not try. CSAs are not responsible for determining if a reported crime actually took place;
they must simply relay what was told to them. CSAs are also not responsible for contacting or trying to
apprehend the alleged perpetrator of a crime, as this is the UNL Police Department’s responsibility. As noted
above, if a report is made and there is no reason to believe that the report was not in good faith, forward it.
What if I am unsure if an incident is a crime or if it should be reported under Clery?
Forward the report! It will be reviewed and included in the statistics if necessary. It is better to provide the
report when unsure than to do nothing, as we do not want to omit any Clery-reportable crimes from our
statistics or not issue a Timely Warning if one is warranted. The ACM is always there to provide consultation, so
feel free to contact him/her if you are unsure whether a reportable crime occurred.
If the University Police Department is not going to investigate every reported crime, what is the purpose of
reporting the incidents, outside of the Clery mandate?
Many crimes do not get reported to the police, per the desire of the victims. By collecting data from other
sources, we are getting a more accurate number for crimes that occur on or near campus. This information is
made public and serves as a resource for the campus community and potential students/employees to use to