Security Alerts
Guidelines for Immediate Security Alerts
Updated 10-21-11
Immediate notification of campus community:
Summarized below are the types of incidents that will result in UCPD immediately notifying the Vice President for Finance and Administration (or designee) and the Vice President for Communications (or designee).
The Associate Vice President for Safety & Security and Chief of Police (or designee) should contact the above Officers within 30 minutes of a preliminary investigation, even if all the facts are not yet available. It is presumed that the Associate Vice President for Safety & Security and Chief of Police will send a timely security alert (within an hour of the reported incident if possible) to campus via the bulk e-mail system and to those individuals who have subscribed to the Security Alert listserv. (An immediate security alert via e-mail is different from a cAlert, which is to be used only in the event of a significant campus emergency and employs multiple forms of instant communication such as phone call-outs and text messages to reach registered participants.)
The goal of a timely alert is to give community members information that will allow them to adjust their behavior in order to protect their personal safety. An immediate security alert may not be sent if the perpetrators have been arrested or if there are other features that are judged to reduce the level of threat to the community.
- A gun is fired in the direction of a person, whether or not the intended victim is struck by a bullet; or an assailant uses any other type of weapon, such as a knife, to injure another person; and these events occur on campus, in University-owned or -managed buildings where there is a concentration of University students, faculty and/or staff (such as Real Estate Operations), or in the area immediately contiguous to such University property including the adjacent street and the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street.
- A University affiliate is killed due to violence in the UCPD service area (39th to 64th Streets and Cottage Grove Avenue to Lake Shore Drive).
- An individual reports a recent "criminal sexual assault" or battery by a stranger, and the incident occurred on campus or in the immediate contiguous areas, as defined above. Attached is the definition of a criminal sexual assault.
- A pattern or cluster of violent crimes is observed on campus or in the immediate contiguous areas, as defined above. For these purposes a pattern is considered to be the occurrence of three or more crimes over a short period of time that appear to be related.
Other circumstances that may or may not warrant immediate notification:
Additionally, the following types of incidents will be brought to the attention of the Vice President for Finance and Administration (or designee) as soon as possible after a preliminary investigation, and consideration will be given as to whether there are special features such that an immediate security alert is warranted.
If it is decided not to do an immediate alert, this information may be included in a security alert the next day; or may be included on our community safety website. In addition, depending upon location a specific crime may merit an alert or announcement posted in the location affected by the incident. Examples include incidents in or near residence halls, academic buildings, or University-affiliated schools.
- Any violent crime on campus or in the immediate contiguous areas as defined above.
- Any pattern of violent crimes in the UCPD service area, whether that pattern occurs in a single day or over an extended period of time.
- Any individual killed due to violence in the UCPD service area.
- Any violent crime in the UCPD service area that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:
- It occurs during the day, defined as between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.
- It occurs near high-traffic locations such as a Metra stop.
- The victim is a child and it occurs near a school.
- The crime can be classified as a hate crime, where the victim has been targeted on the basis of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, etc.
Safety Awareness Program
The University’s Safety Awareness Program was established in 1992 based on the recommendations of a taskforce composed of students, faculty, and staff. In 2008, the program was reviewed by and has been enhanced based on the recommendations of the Campus Safety and Security Committee. The program has several components, including a Public Safety Notification system. The system is designed to change and impact behavior in order to prevent injury or harm and to prevent or reduce the risk of becoming a victim of a crime. The notification system is three-tiered:
- Aggregate crime data, identification of trends, and safety education materials are available on this website. Most incidents of crime will be communicated here.
- Serious incidents of crime will be communicated via a timely e-mail message to the campus and to community members who are registered for security alerts. Security alerts will be infrequent and reserved for the most serious incidents of crime in which a community threat is perceived. When issued, the security alerts briefly describe what happened, when and where it occurred, and only describe the offender if the victim’s description of the offender is sufficiently detailed. These alerts do not identify the victim by name, exact address, or affiliation, nor do they report domestic crimes or crimes where the victim knows the offender. Concerns about privacy should not discourage people from reporting crimes. In addition to being posted to this website, the Alerts are posted on 20 designated bulletin boards around campus. They are removed from the security bulletin boards within several days but will remain on the website indefinitely.
- The cAlert system is the most extensive emergency alert system. University students, faculty and staff members may register for cAlert by visiting calert.uchicago.edu. The cAlert system will be used to send phone calls, e-mail and text messages to all registered individuals in the event of a significant emergency, one which requires individuals to take urgent and immediate action to protect their health and safety.
For a full description of the University’s Safety Awareness Program, visit the University’s Common Sense website.
