Ed. Dep't to regulate campus crime logs

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Wednesday urging the Department of Education to monitor the reporting of crime statistics by university police departments. H.R. 470, which would not have binding legal force even if passed, asks the department to actively enforce the Campus Security Act of 1990, a law requiring federally funded universities to release an annual report of crimes committed on campus. Penn receives federal subsidies and must obey the act. The resolution's sponsors said the Education Department does not now check the accuracy of university crime reports and has never conducted a study to analyze trends in campus crime. "The lives and safety of countless students are unnecessarily at risk," said Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center in Washington, D.C. "The Department of Education is so firmly in the back pocket of educational administrators on this issue? that effective enforcement of the [act] will never be a reality." Rep. Bill Goodling (R-Pa.) co-sponsored the resolution as chairperson of the House Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee. Goodling recently introduced another bill that would require all colleges and universities receiving federal funds to maintain a public log of all on-campus crimes. Penn officials have not taken a position on the resolution or the Open Crime Logs Act, according to Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Carol Scheman, who noted that the University already maintains an open crime log in compliance with Pennsylvania state law. "Universities do what they do because they think it's the right thing to do," Scheman said. With just two weeks left before Congress recesses for the November election, the Campus Crime Logs Act remains in Goodling's committee and House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has not scheduled a vote on the bill, making it unlikely to pass this year. "Possibly it could get out of committee, but there's no chance that the House will consider it," said a staff member on Goodling's committee. According to the staffer, who spoke on condition that her name not be used, if the bill were considered -- and eventually signed -- it would enable students to protect themselves and avoid dangerous areas by giving them access to an increased amount of information about crimes and where they occur. The staff member said the bill might be introduced as an amendment to next year's Higher Education Act, legislation that includes the allocation of funds for universities' research programs. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.) and Tennessee Republican Rep. Jimmy Duncan Jr. have also introduced bills that would require the opening of all campus crime logs to the public.