Effective Date: October 1, 2013
Last Reviewed: October 1, 2013
Timely Warning Policy
To aid in the prevention of similar crimes or serious incidents, the Stonehill College Campus Police Department, in conjunction with Student Affairs and Media Relations, issues campus crime alerts in a timely manner to notify community members about selected crimes in and around the community. Crime Alerts will be distributed for the following Unified Crime Reporting Program (UCR)/National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) classifications: arson, criminal homicide, and robbery.
Cases of aggravated assault and sex offenses are considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the facts of the case and the information known by SCPD. For example, if an assault occurs between two students who have a disagreement, there may be no on-going threat to other Stonehill College community members and a crime alert would not be distributed. Some cases involving sexual assault are reported long after the incident occurred; thus, it would not be possible to distribute a “timely” warning notice to the community in those cases. Sex offenses will be considered on a case-by-case basis depending on when and where the incident occurred, when it was reported, and the amount of information known by the SCPD. The Stonehill College Police Chief or his designee reviews all reports to determine if there is an on-going threat to the community and if the distribution of a crime alert is warranted. Crime Alerts may also be issued for other crime classifications, as deemed necessary.
Community members who have information about a crime or other serious incident should report the incident to the Stonehill College Campus Police Department so that a campus crime alert can be issued, if warranted. These warnings will be distributed if the incident is reported either to the SCPD directly or indirectly through a campus security authority or the local police.
The SCPD will issue a crime alert via a community announcement on MyHill and by sending it out to the community via campus email. Crime alerts may also appear as a notice posted in campus buildings when deemed necessary.
The decision to issue a crime alert shall be decided on a case by case basis in light of all the facts surrounding a crime, including factors such as the nature of the crime, the continuing danger to the campus community, and the possible risk of compromising law enforcement efforts.