Crime and Reporting

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Reporting a crime

Timely reporting is often the main factor in solving a crime. If you have witnessed a crime on campus or have information concerning a crime on campus, please contact ISU Police.  Always dial 9-1-1 in an emergency. This number is continuously monitored by trained dispatchers. It should be used ONLY to report an incident where an immediate response is required by police, fire, or paramedics. Non-emergency and routine business calls should be placed to 515-294-4428.

Our dispatchers are trained to obtain the most accurate and complete information possible regarding activities you witness. When contacting ISU Police, please stay on the line until the dispatcher disconnects the call.

  • Stay calm. Take a deep breath.
  • Briefly tell the dispatcher exactly what is wrong.
  • Give the address of the emergency, the phone number from which you are calling and your name.
  • Stay on the phone until the 9-1-1 dispatcher tells you to hang up.

Reporting parties should leave a contact number should follow-up be needed. The information is part of the ongoing investigation and is subject to provisions of The Code of Iowa.

  • Push the button to signal the dispatcher whose voice you will hear from the speaker.
  • Your location is automatically recorded.
  • Public Safety personnel will be sent immediately.
  • Speak clearly, with enough volume to be heard; yelling distorts your voice and your message cannot be understood.
  • Follow the 9-1-1 procedures listed above; stay calm, give complete information, and follow directions given to you by the dispatcher.
  • Your phone call will remain connected until a public safety officer arrives to assist you.
  • Only the dispatcher (not you or an assailant) can disconnect the phone.

You may also report crimes in person at 2519 Osborn Dr. or 55 Armory Building.

If you observe a crime off-campus, you should contact 911 in emergencies. They will dispatch the appropriate policing agency.

Campus support and resources

A range of resources is available for help with safety, health, wellness, and more.

What is a hate crime?

Hate or hate speech alone, while not in line with Iowa State University’s Principles of Community, is not considered a hate crime under the Iowa Code. Even though hate speech may not rise to the level of a crime under the Iowa Code, ISU Police is concerned about any behavior that undermines the safety of the Iowa State community or the campus climate. Please contact ISU Police with any reports or concerns you may have.

Public offenses:

  • Assault
  • Arson
  • Criminal Mischief
  • Trespass

When committed against a person or a person’s property because of the person’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age, or disability status, or the person’s association with a person of a certain race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age, or disability.  Iowa Code 729A Violation of Individual Rights.

In Iowa, a hate crime is considered a “penalty enhancement,” which means a person convicted of one of the above enumerated crimes would receive a sentence one degree higher than it would be for the same crime without a bias or hate component.

  • Call 9-1-1 if you are in immediate danger.
  • Consider filing a report or speaking with an officer to determine your options (ISU Police non-emergency line 515-294-4428).
  • Know that you have the right to be safe from violence and the threat of violence.
  • As with all cases, do not change anything at the location where the assault occurred in case there is physical evidence, so that it may be documented and preserved.
  • Leave any documentation (email, phone, text messages, videos) intact until an officer can obtain a copy.

You should also contact the Office of Equal Opportunity to report a violation of the University’s non-discrimination policies.

Persons within the state of Iowa have the right to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of violence, committed against their persons or property because of:

  • Race
  • Color
  • Religion
  • Ancestry
  • National Origin
  • Political Affiliation
  • Sex
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Age
  • Disability Status

What is the Clery Act?

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (“Clery Act”), is a federal law requiring colleges and universities to disclose to the United States Department of Education statistics regarding specific crimes occurring on or near campus property. The law is tied to an institution’s participation in federal student financial aid programs. It is this law that requires our annual Security Report, published by October 1 of every year and distributed to students, faculty, and staff.

Many Iowa State students, faculty, and staff are identified as Campus Security Authorities (CSAs) through their job functions and have a duty to report Clery specific crimes. Campus Security Authorities will receive regular periodic notices of their duties and be provided information on Clery Training through Workday.   You will be notified by email if this training has been assigned to you with instructions how to access the training.

Iowa State University is required to alert the campus community to certain crimes in a manner that is timely and will aid in the prevention of similar crimes.  The intent of the timely warning is to enable people to make decisions to protect themselves and their property.

Iowa State University is required to provide a daily crime log that contains all criminal incidents and alleged criminal incidents within the patrol jurisdiction of the ISU Police Department that are reported.  This includes all crimes, and not just those required to be reported by the Clery Act.  This Crime Log is designed to provide crime information on a more timely basis, and is updated within two business days of when the crime is reported to the Police Department.  This includes crimes that are being reported by a Campus Security Authority to Police Department.

It is important that Iowa State University comply with the federal Clery Act.  As a Campus Security Authority (CSA), you have the option of filing a CSA Crime Report Form for each crime reported to you.  It is not your duty to investigate any alleged crime, but only to report the information that is given to you. 

WHO – CSA Information

  • You must provide your name, phone number, e-mail address and the date this Crime Report Form is completed.
  • Note whether the crime was reported to you by the victim, a witness, or third party.

WHO – Reporting Party Information

  • If the reporting party wishes to remain anonymous you do not need to include their contact information on this form.  However, a Crime Report Form must still be completed for Clery Act compliance purposes.
  • Do provide information, including the name, of the accused offender if that is revealed to you. 
  • Do provide additional information including:
    • If the victim has a relationship with the accused.  This will help to determine if the crime meets the criteria for a dating or domestic violence classification.  
    • Names and contact information for any witnesses.

WHAT

  • Indicate which crime(s) you believe occurred.  Don’t worry about making the correct classification, but do provide enough details in the description of the incident to allow ISU Police to determine the correct classification.  

WHEN

  • Indicate approximately when the incident occurred according to the information you receive from the reporting person.

HOW

  • Provide a description of the incident in as much detail as you can. 
  • If you believe the crime was a hate crime, provide what motivation you think there was and include details in the description of the incident.

WHERE

  • Indicate the location where the crime occurred.  A map of the campus that identifies ISU locations pursuant to the Clery Act is available for your reference.  Even if you are unsure if the crime occurred directly on campus, provide as much detail as you can so that the ISU Police Department can determine the location.
  • If you are unsure about the location of the crime, provide any other information that might be helpful, such as the name of a class or event that the reporting party was attending. 

NEXT STEPS

  • Submit this form to the ISU Police Department.
  • If the victim does want to file a police report, please assist them in making this contact.
  • If the victim does not want to file a police report, but is interested in other services, she or he should be referred to ISU Police and/or ISU Student Assistance Office which will provide information about available victim support. 
  • To avoid double counting or misinformation regarding crime statistics, please indicate if you believe this crime may have been reported to ISU Police or another CSA. Even if you believe this incident has already been reported, you should still complete this Crime Report Form. 

Proceed to the CSA Crime Report Form.

Clery reportable crimes

MURDER/NON-NEGLIGENT MANSLAUGHTER

The willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another. NOTE: Deaths caused by negligence, suicides, accidental deaths, and justifiable homicides are excluded. Assaults to murder and attempts to murder should be classified as aggravated assault.

NEGLIGENT MANSLAUGHTER: 

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.

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 (including “joy riding”).

ARSON:

Any 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.

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 consent of the victim.

FONDLING:

The touching of the private body parts of another person for the purposes 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 incapacity.

INCEST:

Nonforcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degree wherein marriage is prohibited by law.

STATUTORY RAPE:

Nonforcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:

Includes misdemeanor and felony crimes of violence committed against a victim when the offender is the spouse of the victim, a former spouse of the victim, or an intimate partner of the victim, or has a child in common with the victim. Domestic violence also includes misdemeanor or felony crimes of violence when the victim is a minor subject to the control of the offender, or is an incapacitated individual subject to the control of the offender.

DATING VIOLENCE:

Violence by a person who has been in a romantic or intimate relationship with the victim. Whether there was such relationship will be gauged by its length, type, and frequency of interaction.

STALKING:

A course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for her, his, or others’ safety, or to suffer substantial emotional distress. Note: the physical location of the course of conduct or portions of it does not matter.

A hate crime is a criminal offense committed against a person or property which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias. Bias is a performed negative opinion or attitude towards a group of persons based on their race, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin or gender identity. For Clery purposes, hate crimes include any of the above offenses (minus non-negligent manslaughter) and the addition of the categories below.

LARCENY:

The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another.

SIMPLE ASSAULT:

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 lacerations, or loss of consciousness.

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.

The third category of crime statistics is the number of arrests and the number of referrals for disciplinary action for the categories listed below. Please note, these statistics are based on violations of the law, and not the university’s policies that resulted in the disciplinary referral.

WEAPON LAW VIOLATIONS:

The violation of laws or ordinances dealing with weapon offenses, regulatory in nature, such as: manufacture, sale, or possession of deadly weapons; carrying deadly weapons, concealed or openly; furnishing deadly weapons to minors; aliens possessing deadly weapons; all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned.

DRUG ABUSE VIOLATIONS:

The violation of state and local laws relating to the unlawful possession, sale, use, growing, manufacturing, and making of narcotic drugs. The relevant substances include: opium or cocaine and their derivatives (morphine, heroin, codeine); marijuana; synthetic narcotics (Demerol, methadone); and dangerous non-narcotic drugs (barbiturates, Benzedrine).

LIQUOR LAW VIOLATIONS:

The violation of laws or ordinance prohibiting: the manufacture, sale, transporting, furnishing, possessing of intoxicating liquor; maintaining unlawful drinking places; bootlegging; operating a still; furnishing liquor to a minor or intemperate person; using a vehicle for illegal transportation of liquor; drinking on a train or public conveyance; all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned. Drunkenness and driving under the influence are not included in this definition.