Timely warnings

The purpose of this policy is to establish the university’s responsibilities and procedures for issuing a timely warning notice to the university community about Clery Act crimes to help them avoid a continuing threat and aid in the prevention of similar crimes.

Lynn University will issue a timely warning notice in the event it receives notice of an alleged Clery Act crime (identified below) occurring on campus, on public property within or immediately adjacent to the university’s campus or in/on non-campus buildings or property controlled by the university, where the university determines, in its judgment, that the allegations present a serious or continuing threat to the university community.

The Chief of Campus Safety is responsible for determining whether to issue a timely warning notice to the campus community.

Campus security authority —a Lynn University employee who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities, and as such is trained by the college to report certain crimes occurring on campus or at a college sanctioned event to Campus Safety for inclusion in the Annual Security and Fire Report.

Clery Act crime—arson, criminal homicide, burglary, robbery, sex offenses, aggravated assault, motor vehicle theft, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and hate crimes, as defined by the Clery Act.

Hate crime—a criminal offense of murder and non-negligent murder, forcible sex offenses, non-forcible sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson, larceny-theft, simple assault, intimidation, destruction/damage/vandalism of property, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking incidents, where the criminal offense was committed against a person or property which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias.

Timely—as soon as reasonably practicable, after an incident has been reported to: Campus Safety, a campus security authority, or a local police agency.

Timely warning—a notification to Lynn University faculty, staff, students and known visitors that will be issued when both elements are present: (a) A Clery crime has been reported to Campus Safety which occurred on Lynn University Clery geography on campus, on public property within or immediately adjacent to campus, and/or in or on non-campus buildings or property that Lynn University owns or controls; and (b) The Chief of Campus Safety or designee has determined that the crime poses a serious or continuing threat to the campus community.

Crimes covered by the Clery Act that are known to Campus Safety and that represent a serious or continuing threat to the campus community will result in a campus-wide “timely warning” notification. Whether to issue a timely warning notice is determined on a case-by-case basis for Clery Act reportable crimes reported to the Campus Safety which occurred on Lynn University Clery geography on campus, on public property within or immediately adjacent to campus, and/or in or on non-campus buildings or property that Lynn University owns or controls.. Timely warning notices may also be issued for other crimes as determined necessary by the Chief of Campus Safety. The university will document and retain the justification for determining whether to issue a timely warning notice for a seven-year period.

Timely warnings may be issued via a variety of methods, depending on the circumstances of the crime. These can include:

• Email alerts- most common and distributed as a Campus Safety update. Disseminated by the Office of Marketing and Communication.
• Text alerts- typically used for imminent or more serious incident(s) that may be weather or emergency related.
• Desktop messaging- temporarily utilize university computer screens to provide emergency message; typically identical to message communicated by email, voice or text alerts.
• Lynn.edu- ongoing concern may be posted on alert.lynn.edu (e.g. Level 3 crisis; school closings, weather, and important events).
• Voicemail alerts- used in conjunction with email and text alerts.
• Public address system- outdoor campus-wide system that carries message identical to other alerts.
• Printed notice-when appropriate, printed notices may be posted at campus locations affected by the emergency.
• Alert beacons- flashing lights with spoken messages; wall mounted in common areas.

In addition to the above, the incident command team may employ other methods for notifying the university community, including, but not limited to, phones, two-way radios, Campus Safety Officers and other university personnel.

Written timely warning notices typically contain in the subject line the phrase “timely warning notices” or “crime alert” depending on the nature and severity of the threat. The body of each timely warning notices will include a short description of the crime or incident giving the time and date, location, reported offense, suspect description, weapon used (if any), suspect vehicle (if any) and method of operation used to facilitate the crime. The notice will also include personal safety information to aid members of the university community in protecting themselves from becoming victims of a similar crime and to promote overall safety for the university community. In no instance, however, will a timely warning notices include the name of the victim or other identifying information about the victim. Finally, in developing the content of the timely warning notices, the university will take all reasonable efforts not to compromise on-going law enforcement efforts.

To learn more about this policy or the supporting procedures, please contact Campus Safety.