These procedures are established in compliance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act (§ 485(f)(1)(J); 20 U.S.C. § 1092(f)) to provide timely warning, emergency response, emergency notification, and evacuation procedures for campus.
Chancellor
Revised August 2018; Established August 1, 2017; Replaces former policies 05.504 Emergency Notification, Response, and Evacuation Procedures and 05.502 Crime Reporting.
UNC Code, Appendix 1, Section XV
UNCW Police/Office of University Relations/Environmental Health & Safety/Office of Title IX and Clery Compliance
PURPOSE
These procedures are established in compliance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act (§ 485(f)(1)(J); 20 U.S.C. § 1092(f)) to provide timely warning, emergency response, emergency notification, and evacuation procedures for campus.
SCOPE
These procedures apply to all university members and campus visitors, as indicated.
REPORTING CRIMES and EMERGENCIES
The UNCW Police Department is the point of origin for all emergency services on campus. The department is open and provides police and security services 24-hours a day, year-round.
Students, employees, and campus visitors should immediately report all crimes to University Police.
University Police encourages anyone who is the victim or witness to any crime or suspected crime to promptly report the incident to police. Because police reports are public records under state law, University Police cannot hold reports of crime in confidence. Confidential reports for purposes of inclusion in the annual disclosure of crime statistics can generally be submitted anonymously as described below. Reports may also be submitted to other Campus Security Authorities, who may report the occurrence to University Police without personally identifiable information in certain circumstances.
The police department monitors emergency call boxes as well as emergency telephones located on university properties. Elevators are equipped with an emergency telephone and some building locations have intercoms that connect directly to University Police.
In addition to the methods listed above, University Police may be contacted in the following ways:
In an emergency, call 911.
For non-emergencies, from a campus phone, call extension 2-2222. From a non-campus phone, call (910) 962-2222.
To submit an anonymous report, employees, students, and visitors may:
From a campus phone, call extension 2-8477 (TIPS). From a non-campus phone, call (910) 962-8477 (TIPS).
Send an anonymous email from the Police Department web page at www.uncw.edu/police.
Utilize TEXT-A-TIP, a program in cooperation with Wilmington Police Department.
Go online at www.tip708.com to submit an anonymous online report or make a report by text:
Begin the text message with “Tip 708.”
Type the remainder of the tip/message.
Send the text message to 274637 (CRIMES).
CAMPUS SECURITY AUTHORITIES (CSAs)
The following university officials or members of designated offices, by virtue of their title and position, are required to notify University Police of Clery crimes, as further described herein:
University Police
All personnel
Office of Housing and Residence Life
All professional staff
Resident Assistants
Desk Receptionists, including contracted security guards
Office of the Dean of Students
All professional staff
Athletic Department
Athletic Director and other administrators
Trainers
Coaching staff
Campus Recreation
All professional staff
Campus Life
All professional staff
UNCW faculty/staff advisors to registered student organizations
Director of the Student Health Center
Victim advocates
UNCW Title IX Coordinator
DC Virgo
Student Resource Officer
Principal
Assistant Principal
Lab School Implementation Coordinator
Upon receipt of such information, the above-referenced individuals should notify the University Police as soon as possible so that the appropriate analysis for timely warning or emergency notification can occur and to ensure the information is included in the Crime Log, https://itsappserv01.uncw.edu/policenet/log.aspx, and in the Annual Security Report, https://www.uncw.edu/police/documents/crime.pdf. Notification should include the date and time of occurrence, nature of the occurrence, and location.
ANNUAL SECURITY REPORT
The following offenses, also referred to as Clery crimes herein, will be included in the Annual Security Report:
Primary Crimes:
Murder/Non-negligent manslaughter
Manslaughter by negligence
Rape
Fondling
Statutory Rape
Incest
Robbery
Aggravated Assault
Burglary
Motor Vehicle Theft
Arson
Hate Crimes are crimes committed against a person or property and the offense is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias against the victim. Bias categories include race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, and disability. The following hate crimes are included in the Annual Security Report:
All primary crimes
Larceny
Simple assault
Intimidation
Destruction/damage/vandalism of property
Arrests and Referrals for Disciplinary Action are included in the Annual Security Report for the following law violations:
Liquor law violations
Drug law violations
Weapons law violations
VAWA Crimes are also included in the Annual Security Report and include the following:
Dating Violence
Domestic Violence
Stalking
The locations associated with UNCW which are required to be included in the Campus Crime and Security Report fall within one of three categories of properties: On-Campus Property, Non-Campus Property, or Public Property. The definitions for these categories are adopted from the 2016 edition of The Handbook for Campus Safety and Crime Reporting published by the U.S. Department of Education and are as follows:
On-Campus Property includes “[a]ny building or property owned or controlled by an institution within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area and used by the institution in direct support of, or in a manner related to, the institution’s educational purposes, including residence halls; and [a]ny building or property that is within or reasonably contiguous to the area identified in [part] (1) of this definition that is owned by the institution but controlled by another person, is frequently used by students, and supports institutional purposes.”
Examples of properties that may fall within this category include, but are not limited to, Alderman Hall, the Amphitheater, Bear Hall, Fisher University Union, and Friday Annex.
On-Campus Property also includes a subset for Residential Facilities. All residence halls on campus fall into this category.
Non-Campus Property includes “[a]ny building or property owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by the institution; or any building or property that is owned or controlled by an institution that is used in direct support of, or in relation to, the institution’s educational purposes, is frequently used by students, and is not within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area of the institution.”
Examples of properties that may fall within this category include, but are not limited to, 6150 Rock Creek Road, Town Creek, NC (Nature Preserve) and research vessels owned by UNCW when carrying students participating in university programs.
Public Property includes “[a]ll public property, including thoroughfares, streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities, that is within the campus, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus.”
Examples of properties that may fall within this category include, but are not limited to, the 600 block of South College Road and the Cross City Trail.
TIMELY WARNINGS
In an effort to provide notice to the university community of certain types of crime impacting campus, a timely warning to the community may be issued. A timely warning may be issued when a Clery crime is reported to University Police. To
determine whether a timely warning will be issued, an assessment will be conducted by University Police, the Office of Title IX and Clery Compliance, and other appropriate offices to determine whether the reported Clery crime is considered a serious or continuing threat to students and employees. This assessment will further take into account the nature of the crime, the continuing danger to the campus community, and the possible risk of compromising law enforcement efforts, among other relevant factors.
It is anticipated that timely warnings will be the responsibility of University Police. However, it is recognized that any number of circumstances may cause this responsibility to fall to the Office of University Relations or, in some cases, another designated office(s)/department(s), including, but not limited to, the Office of Title IX and Clery Compliance.
Notifications may be disseminated by any of the following methods through UNCW Alert:
Broadcast Voicemail
Website Postings
Community Meetings
Media (print, TV, social, radio)
Public Postings
Telephone
Personal Communication
Text Messages
CRIME LOG
University Police maintains a daily crime log through the following link: www.uncw.edu/police. The information in the Crime Log typically includes the following as it relates to crimes: date reported, date and time of occurrence, nature, general location, and disposition. The Crime Log is normally updated within two business days, excluding days UNCW is closed. Hard copies of the log are available for public inspection, upon request, during normal business hours.
FIRE LOG AND ANNUAL FIRE SAFETY REPORT
Environmental Health & Safety maintains the fire log and publishes the Annual Fire Safety Report, available through the following link http://uncw.edu/ehs/fire.html. The information in the Fire Log typically includes the following as it relates to reportable fires: date reported, date and time of occurrence, cause of fire, general location, number of injuries related to the fire, number of deaths related to the fire, value of property damage, and fire department response. Hard copies of the log are available for public inspection, upon request, during normal business hours. Hard copies of the Annual Fire Safety Report are similarly available upon request.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND NOTIFICATION
Generally, University Police is responsible for providing immediate emergency response to incidents, investigation of reports of criminal occurrences, and/or initiating or providing assistance to other agencies and departments for other types of emergencies occurring on property owned, leased, and managed by UNCW.
Once a confirmed significant emergency or dangerous situation involving immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees is occurring on campus, the campus community shall be notified, unless the University Police determines that issuing an immediate notification would compromise efforts to assist a victim, contain the emergency, respond to the emergency, or otherwise mitigate the emergency. An immediate notification may also be delayed if it would place the community at a greater risk. Any delay in notification shall be for as short a time as possible.
It is anticipated that initial notifications will be the responsibility of University Police. However, it is recognized that any number of circumstances may cause this responsibility to fall to the Office of University Relations or, in some cases, another designated office(s)/department(s). Additional messages may be released by University Police as the incident or situation dictates and as time permits. The Office of University Relations may also have responsibility for broadcasting further messages to the UNCW community.
The Chief of Police, or designee, shall notify the Office of University Relations of the initial incident and shall further notify that office when University Police has transferred responsibility for further notifications to them. University Police will continue to update and brief the Office of University Relations staff on incident developments, advising on the content and timing of further communications.
The initial message shall be brief and direct to notify the community and advise the community on what they should do in response, such as whether to seek shelter, secure doors, avoid or evacuate a location(s) or take other action as needed.
Any of following emergency communications, as well as others as deemed appropriate, may be utilized depending on the type and nature of the emergency:
Seahawk Siren System: utilized for emergencies requiring a "shelter in place" response. The siren will be utilized during sudden emergencies, such as tornadoes, hazardous materials incidents, or active shooters.
University’s emergency notification system: sends an email message to all UNCW email addresses and sends voice and text messages to cell phone numbers provided by students, faculty and staff. This system also has the capability of populating social media, RSS, and CAP.
UNCW homepage and related internal websites.
Computer pop-up messages on university owned computers.
In-person communication by one individual to another person or group of persons.
Environmental Health & Safety and the Office of University Relations shall test the notification systems no less than annually and its effectiveness will be monitored by Environmental Health & Safety’s emergency management function.
At a minimum this policy shall be as follows:
Annually in the Annual Security Report
Publication in the UNCW Emergency Action Plan
Inclusion on the Official UNCW Policy website