Clery Crime Definitions

• Murder/Non-Negligent Manslaughter: The willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another. NOTE: Deaths caused by negligence, attempts to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, accidental deaths, and justifiable homicides are excluded.
• Manslaughter by Negligence: The killing of another person through gross negligence.
• Robbery: the taking or attempting to take anything from value of the care, custody or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.
• Aggravated Assault: An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm. It is not necessary that injury result from an aggravated assault when a gun, knife or other weapon is used which could or probably would result in a serious potential injury if the crime were successfully completed.
•  Burglary: The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. For reporting purposes this definition includes: unlawful entry with intent to commit a larceny or a felony; breaking and entering with intent to commit a larceny; housebreaking; safecracking; and all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned.
• Motor Vehicle Theft: The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. (Classify as motor vehicle theft all cases where automobiles are taken by persons not having lawful access, even though the vehicles are later abandoned—including joy riding.)
• Arson: The willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, or personal property of another kind.
• Sexual Assault: Is an offense that meets the definition of rape, fondling, incest, or statutory rape as used in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting system. A sex offense is any act directed against another person, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent.
  • Rape: 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 definition includes any gender of victim or perpetrator.
  • Fondling: The touching of the private 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 or her age or because of his or her temporary or permanent mental incapacity.
  •  Incest: Non-forcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
  • Statutory Rape: A non-forcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent (which is 16 in the State of Michigan).

• Domestic Violence: The term ‘‘domestic violence’’ includes felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence committed
  • By a current or former spouse of the victim,
  • By a person with whom the victim shares a child in common,
  • By a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse,
  • By a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction receiving grant monies, or
  • By 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.
• Dating Violence: Violence 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 a consideration of the following factors:
  • The length of the relationship;
  • The type of relationship;
  • The frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.
• Stalking: Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her safety or the safety of others; or suffer substantial emotional distress.
• Sexual Assault: (See definition under Criminal Offenses.)
  • Note: Sexual Assault is also a VAWA offense but is included in the Criminal Offense category for Clery Act Reporting purposes.

• Weapon Law Violations: The violation of laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, concealment, or use of firearms, cutting instruments, explosives, incendiary devices or other deadly weapons. This classification encompasses weapons offenses that are regulatory in nature.
• Drug Law Violations: The violation of laws prohibiting the production, distribution and/or use of certain controlled substances and the equipment or devices utilized in their preparation and/or use. The unlawful cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, purchase, use, possession, transportation or importation of any controlled drug or narcotic substance.
• Liquor Law Violations: The violation of state or local laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession or use of alcoholic beverages, not including driving under the influence and drunkenness.

Grand Rapids Community College is also required to report statistics for hate (bias) related crimes by the type of bias as defined below for the following classifications: murder/non-negligent manslaughter, sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson (see definitions above) and larceny, vandalism, intimidation, and simple assault (see definitions below).

• Larceny: The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another.
• Vandalism: To willfully or maliciously destroy, injure, disfigure, or deface any public or private property, real or personal, without the consent of the owner or person having custody or control by cutting, tearing, breaking, marking, painting, drawing, covering with filth, or any other such means as may be specified by local law.
• Intimidation: 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.
• Simple Assault: An 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.

Bill H.R. 5646 defines hazing as any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a person (whether individually or in concert with other persons) against another person or persons regardless of the willingness of such other person or persons to participate, that:

• is committed in the course of an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, a student organization (e.g., a club, athletic team, fraternity, or sorority); and
• causes or creates a risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the IHE or the organization, of physical or psychological injury such as:
  • Whipping, beating, striking, electronic shocking, placing of a harmful substance on someone’s body, or similar activity;
  • Causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement in a small space, extreme calisthenics, or other similar activity;
  • Causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing another person to consume food, liquid, alcohol, drugs, or other substances;
  • Causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing another person to perform sexual acts;
  • Any activity that places another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words or conduct;
  • Any activity against another per son that includes a criminal violation of local, State, Tribal, or Federal law; and
  • Any activity that induces, causes, or requires another person to perform a duty or task that involves a criminal violation of local, State, Tribal, or Federal law.

"Student organizations" for purposes of reporting hazing under this definition, means an organization at an institution of higher education (such as a club, society, association, varsity or junior varsity athletic team, club sports team, fraternity, sorority, band, or student government) in which two or more of the members are students enrolled at the institution of higher education, whether or not the organization is established or recognized by the institution.