An independent audit of crime reporting policies at UConn found that there is room for improvement in 75 areas, ranging from the timeliness of crime reporting to the training of campus security.
The results were reviewed this morning during a Board of Trustees meeting.
UConn Police Chief Barbara O’Connor ordered the audit shortly after she was hired in 2012. This was done in anticipation of the U.S. Department of Education fining the school over compliance issues regarding the Clery Act, which requires the school to report crimes that occur on or near campus.
“There's no intent to hide crimes here at UConn. There's no intent to not have solid security policies,” O'Connor said.
The school recently hired a full-time compliance officer in an effort to ensure compliance with the Clery Act
O'Connor said they found that training of the staff and having the campus come to the realization that Clery is a campus-wide responsibility, not just the police department’s responsibility.
School officials said they have no idea when they will receive the report from the U.S. Department of Education or what the fine they anticipate will be, but said they already feel they're making great strides toward compliance here on campus.
“Our goal is to achieve absolute compliance, 100 percent, and I believe we'll achieve that goal,” O'Connor said.
