Campus Security

Campus safety and security are important issues at Johnston Community College.  Our goal is to provide students with a safe environment in which to learn and to keep students, parents, and employees well informed about campus security.  The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or Clery Act, requires institutions of higher education to provide students and families with the information they need to make informed decisions. The following policies and procedures are established to comply with the Clery Act.

Reporting of Criminal Offenses

Johnston Community College encourages students and employees to accurately and promptly report all crimes and suspicious individuals on campus to the Campus Police and Security Department and to appropriate law enforcement agencies that share the jurisdiction of the college. In most cases, these external agencies include the Smithfield Police Department and/or the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office.

If the criminal activity or emergency involves personal injury or damage, Campus Police and Security personnel and the Vice President of Student Services/Enrollment Management should be notified, immediately. 

If the emergency and/or criminal action involves injury to property or buildings, the Vice President of Finance and Facility Services should be notified, immediately. The Vice President of Student Services/Enrollment Management and Vice President of Finance and Facility Services are responsible for responding to emergencies and criminal actions. In their absence, other college vice presidents are responsible for responding to any emergency in their areas. If there is an immediate threat or emergency always dial 9-1-1 first.

All crimes or emergencies should be reported to Campus Security to ensure inclusion in the annual crime statistics and to aid in providing timely warnings to the community when appropriate.

Confidential Reporting of Crimes

Occasionally, victims of crime wish to report a crime but do not want to give their name and/or do not want to pursue action through the criminal justice system or the college’s disciplinary conduct procedures. Anonymous reporting of an incident can be conducted by calling Campus Security at (919) 209-2111, the Director of Campus Security at (919) 209-2080, or by contacting a Campus Security Authority (CSA).

For those designated as CSAs, anonymous reports can be relayed to the Campus Security Department by email, inter-office envelope, or in person. Before a report can be submitted, the CSA must document certain information, including: the date the incident occurred and actual date reported, the type of crime involved, the general location of the crime (campus building, non-campus property, etc.), and a description of the incident. The CSA must identify the individual who received the report and their contact phone number. 

This information will protect the confidentiality of the victim, while providing Campus Security officers with enough information to determine whether or not the incident has already been reported, to assess if there is pattern of criminal behavior developing that needs to be addressed, and to help determine if there is a serious or continuing threat to the safety of the campus community that would require an alert (i.e., a timely warning or emergency notification).

Campus Security officers follow up on each anonymous report, as appropriate, based upon the timeliness and substantiation of information provided. If the investigating officer determines that the reported incident did occur and that it has not previously been reported, the officer will complete an event report, the crime will be included in the Daily Crime Log, and, if applicable, the crime statistic(s) included in the college’s annual disclosure of crime statistics.

Pursuant to the Clery Act, pastoral and professional counselors are not required to report crimes to the Campus Security Department for inclusion in the annual disclosure of crime statistics or for the purpose of a timely warning. 

• A pastoral counselor is a person who is associated with a religious order or denomination, is recognized by that religious order or denomination as someone who provides confidential counseling and is functioning within the scope of that recognition as a pastoral counselor.
• A professional counselor is a person whose official college responsibilities include providing mental health counseling to members of the campus community and who is functioning within the scope of his or her license or certification.

Sex Offender Registration

The Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act, enacted on October 28, 2000, requires institutions of higher education to issue a statement advising the campus community where law enforcement agency information provided by a State concerning registered sex offenders may be obtained.

North Carolina law requires sex offenders who have been convicted of certain offenses to register with their county sheriff. The sheriff collects information from the offender and court documents. The sheriff then enters the information into the Registry database. The information is available on a county-wide basis at the sheriff’s office.  The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) takes certain information submitted by the sheriffs in all 100 counties in the State of North Carolina and makes it available to the public via the Sex Offender Registry website.

The North Carolina Sex Offender and Public Protection Registry can be accessed at the following link: North Carolina Sex Offender Registry. This NC registry was established in January 1996 due to the General Assembly’s enactment of Article 27A of Chapter 14 of NC General Statutes (NCGS 14‐ 208.5).

Additional information and resources can be found at the following websites:

North Carolina Sex Offender & Public Protection Registration Programs Publication (PDF)

NC SAVAN (North Carolina Statewide Automated Victim Assistance and Notification)
- VINELink Search for Sexual Offenders 

National Sex Offender Public Registry