Timely Warning Protocol

Emory University follows a Timely Warning Protocol, as described below, to provide all Emory campus communities (as appropriate) with timely notification of the occurrence of certain “Clery Crimes” covered by the Clery Act. The Timely Warning Protocol applies to all Emory University campuses. Timely Warnings, known at Emory as “Public Safety Notices,” shall be provided to students and employees in a manner that is timely, that withholds the names of victims as confidential, and that will aid in the prevention of similar potentially dangerous or threatening occurrences.

In order to have a Public Safety Notice posted under the Timely Warning Protocol and/or to have a crime included within the statistical section of the Annual Security Report, the crime report should be made to the Emory Police Department (EPD); to the Security Department providing services on campuses not directly serviced by EPD; or, if the reporter is a designated Campus Security Authority, via Emory’s on-line Campus Security Authority report form available at https://clery.emory.edu. Any reports initially received by in-house or contract security services staff at any of Emory’s campuses shall be reported to EPD for consideration of Timely Warning and statistical reporting requirements.

Note, however, that Emory University is not required to issue a Public Safety Notice with respect to crimes reported to a pastoral or professional counselor.

The Director of Clery Act Compliance (or designee) must be notified by EPD or via the on-line CSA Incident Report Form process of the occurrence of a Clery crime which might represent a serious or continuing threat to the community. The Director of Clery Act Compliance (or designee) shall review the incident and, in consultation with the Emory General Counsel’s Office, determine which situations warrant the issuance of a Public Safety Notice. The determination will be made on a case-by-case basis. Factors considered in determining if a Public Safety Notice will be issued generally include, but are not limited to —

• The nature of the crime or conduct and whether the reported incident represents a crime reportable under the Clery Act.
• The location of the incident and whether the incident occurred within the University’s Clery reportable geography.
• The time elapsed between when the incident occurred and when the incident was reported to EPD (depending on the specific facts of an incident, the more time that has elapsed between occurrence and time of report, the less helpful a Public Safety Notice would be to the campus community).
• The nature and duration of any relationship between the individuals involved in a reported incident, and the alleged conduct in the context of their relationship.
• A determination as to whether the incident is believed to represent a serious or continuing threat to students and employees.
• Whether sufficient and reliable information is available about the reported incident, or meaningful safety education can be provided along with the notice about the incident, so that if disseminated, members of the Emory University community can reasonably use it to protect themselves or prevent a similar crime from occurring.

A Public Safety Notice may be issued even if all the facts surrounding a reported incident are not yet available and are subject to further development in an investigation.

The Director of Clery Act Compliance (or designee) will draft a Public Safety Notice when deemed appropriate and submit it for review as part of the consultation process with the General Counsel’s Office. The Director of Clery Act Compliance (or designee) shall then submit the approved Public Safety Notice draft to the University’s Office of Communications and Marketing, who is responsible for distributing the notice. The notice shall be distributed via Emory e-mail listserv, which includes all Emory University and Emory Healthcare (EHC) email addresses for all faculty, staff and students and covers all campuses.

A Public Safety Notice shall include information deemed appropriate based on the specific facts and circumstances in each situation, but typically contains the following types of information –

• The type or classification of the reported incident
• A succinct statement of the incident
• The date, time, and location of the incident, if available
• Possible connection to previous incidents, if applicable
• Other relevant and important information about the crime or incident
• Date and time the Public Safety Notice was released, and
• Information on crime prevention, personal safety, or other community safety resources, as appropriate.

The University may decide not to include some known information in a Public Safety Notice if providing that information could risk compromising law enforcement efforts. Public Safety Notices may also seek information that may lead to arrest and conviction of the offender when violent crimes against persons or major crimes against property have been reported to the police.

As time permits, the Director of Clery Act Compliance (or designee) will notify the Emory Chief of Police, the Senior VP for Communications and Marketing,  the Assistant Vice President for University Communications, the Vice President for Campus Services, the VP and Dean for Campus Life, the Assistant Vice President for Health Sciences Communications, and the EHC ranking administrator (EHC President/CEO or designee) of the decision to issue a Public Safety Notice and provide pertinent information. NOTE: This is for notification purposes only, not for consultation or approval.

Definitions

• Clery Crimes for which the issuance of a Public Safety Notice may be considered include:
  • Criminal Offenses – Murder, Non-negligent manslaughter, Negligent manslaughter, Rape, Fondling, Statutory rape, Robbery, Aggravated assault, Hate crimes, VAWA offenses; and other Clery Crimes if incident details indicate the existence of a serious or continuing threat to the community.

• A Campus Security Authority is:
  • A campus police department or a campus security department of an
  • Any individual or individuals who have responsibility for campus security but who do not constitute a campus police department or a campus security department under the above bullet point of this definition, such as an individual who is responsible for monitoring entrance into institutional property.
  • Any individual or organization specified in an institution’s statement of campus security policy as an individual or organization to which students and employees should report criminal
  • An official of an institution who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities, including, but not limited to, student housing, student discipline, and campus judicial proceedings.