In 1991, the U.S. Congress passed the Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act, which requires colleges to report the three previous years of statistics on murder, sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and statistics on arrests for drug and alcohol violations, and weapons violations. In October 1998, President Clinton signed an amendment renaming the act the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and requiring that all crimes motivated by hate or bias be included in the statistics.

South Dakota State University recognizes the importance for an institution of higher learning to develop and maintain a safe and secure environment in which the academic and social pursuits of its members can be fully realized. No community's security plan can attain maximum effectiveness unless everyone contributes to making it work. Safety and security are both personal as well as shared responsibilities. Only by accepting this responsibility can members of the university community maintain a safe and secure academic environment.