September marks National Campus Safety Awareness Month and National Preparedness Month. At Case Western Reserve University, we are committed to ensuring the safety of our campus community—and throughout this month, The Daily will highlight a few of the many ways the university works to achieve this. For more resources, visit case.edu/publicsafety.
Last week, we shared information on Rave, the university’s mass notification system that distributes messages in the event of an emergency.
But what are the different kinds of messages we send, and what action do you need to take when you receive? Here’s a brief overview.
Emergency Notification
Emergency notifications alert the campus community of a significant emergency or dangerous situation on or near campus, such as a natural disaster, shots fired, a hazardous materials accident or active aggressor. Emergency notifications include:
- Lockdown: A lockdown is only sent when there is an active aggressor on or near campus. If the university goes into a lockdown, all non-residential buildings become locked from the outside—even with keycard access. Residential buildings will remain open via keycard access only. If you are not inside a building, you should leave the area as quickly as possible.
- Shelter in Place: A shelter in place alert is different than a lockdown. This is sent when there is an imminent threat and the university needs the campus community to stay where they are, or seek immediate indoor shelter. Buildings will not be locked, and individuals should await further instruction before moving or taking additional action.
- Evacuation: In the event of an evacuation of multiple buildings or a portion of campus, an alert will be sent with instructions on where to go and how to leave campus or the affected area safely.
- All Clear: When an emergency notification is sent, await the “all clear” message, alerting the campus community that police have investigated the situation and determined it is safe to return to normal activity.
Security Alert
Security alerts advise the campus community of a crime that:
- is a Clery Act crime (Murder/manslaughter, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson, sexual assault, dating/domestic violence and stalking, and hate crimes);
- occurred on campus AND
- presents an ongoing threat (i.e. the suspect has not been apprehended).
Security alerts generally are only sent if all three criteria are met. If the suspect has been apprehended, they are no longer considered a threat to the campus; instead, the information would be reported in the daily crime logs. These messages ideally would include information about the suspect(s) that would help police in finding and apprehending the individual(s) responsible. They aim to help prevent others from becoming a victim of a similar crime.
Safety Advisory
A safety advisory is sent via email to let the campus community know of a situation occurring that would require heightened awareness. Examples might include a rash of thefts in a building, increased police activity due to an off-campus incident or a series of pickpocket attempts.
For More Information
Individuals should always report crimes immediately to 216.368.3333. For more information on safety resources, visit case.edu/publicsafety and watch The Daily this month.