Clery Act Crime Definitions

Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter is the willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another.  This offense includes any death caused by injuries received in a fight, argument, quarrel, assault, or the commission of a crime.  This offense does NOT include traffic fatalities, suicides, accidental deaths, or justifiable homicide as defined by law. 

Manslaughter by negligence is the killing of another person through gross negligence. This offense includes any death caused by the gross negligence of another. This offense does NOT include the death of persons due to their own negligence, accidental deaths not resulting from gross negligence, and traffic fatalities.

• Rape is the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus, with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim. This offense includes the rape of both males and females.
• Fondling is the touching of the private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
• Statutory Rape is sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent. If force was used or threatened, or if the victim was incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or temporary or permanent mental impairment, the offense is Rape, not Statutory Rape. Florida Age of Consent is 18 years old. Individuals aged 17 or younger in Florida are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape. Close in age exemptions do exist.
• Incest is sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.

Under the Clery Act, the possible bias categories are Race, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Gender, Gender Identity, Ethnicity, National Origin, Disability.

• Race:  A preformed negative attitude toward a group of persons who possess common physical characteristics (e.g. color of skin, eyes, and/or hair; facial features, etc.), genetically transmitted by descent and heredity which distinguish them as a distinct division of humankind.
• Religion:  A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons who share the same religious beliefs regarding the origin and purpose of the universe and the existence or nonexistence of a supreme being.
• Sexual Orientation:  A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation.   Sexual Orientation is the term for a person’s physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction to members of the same and/or opposite sex.
• Gender:  A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based on their actual or perceived gender.
• Gender Identity:  A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based on their actual or perceived gender identity (e.g. bias against transgender or gender non-conforming individuals).
• Ethnicity:  A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, common culture and/or ideology that stresses common ancestry. The concept of ethnicity differs from the closely related term “race” in that “race” refers to grouping based mostly upon biological criteria, while “ethnicity” also encompasses additional cultural factors.
• National Origin: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of people based on their actual or perceived country of birth.
• Disability:  A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their physical or mental impairments, whether such disability is temporary or permanent, congenital or acquired by heredity, accident, injury, advanced age or illness.

For Clery's purposes, Hate Crimes include any of the following offenses that are motivated by bias:

• Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter, Sexual Assault (Sex Offenses), Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Motor Vehicle Theft, Arson, Larceny-Theft, Simple Assault, Intimidation, Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property.
• Larceny (Theft), Simple Assault, Intimidation, and Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property are included in Clery Act statistics only if it is committed as a hate crime (motivated by the perpetrator’s bias against the victim on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, and/or disability).
• Larceny (Theft) is the unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another.  Constructive possession is the condition in which a person does not have physical custody or possession but is in a position to exercise dominion or control over a thing. 
• Simple Assault is the unlawful physical attack by one person upon another where neither the offender displays a weapon, nor the victim suffers obvious severe or aggravated bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possible internal injury, severe laceration, or loss of consciousness.
• Intimidation is to unlawfully place another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words and/or other conduct, but without displaying a weapon or subjecting the victim to actual physical attack.  This includes cyber-intimidation if the victim is threatened via electronic means while on campus, on public property immediately adjacent to campus, or on University-owned, leased, or controlled space that is not on campus.
• Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property is to willfully or maliciously destroy, damage, deface, or otherwise injure real or personal property without the consent of the owner or the person having custody or control of it.

Violence is committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim.  The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the reporting party’s statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.

• Dating Violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse.
• Dating Violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence.

• A felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed by:
• A current or former spouse or an intimate partner of the victim;
• A person with whom the victim shares a child in common;
• A person who is cohabiting with, or has cohabited with, the victim as a spouse or intimate partner;
• A person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred;
• Any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred.

Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others; or suffer substantial emotional distress.

• A course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a person’s property.
• A reasonable person means a reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar identities to the victim.
• Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or professional treatment or counseling.