Safety Corner

Timely Warnings vs. Emergency Notifications: What’s the Difference?

Campus Crime Alerts are timely warnings that are triggered when it is determined that acts like homicides, sexual assaults or robberies present a serious or continuous threat to the campus community. It must be a threat that occurred on campus, on immediately accessible public property or at a non-campus location like a remote off-campus classroom. These acts have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the proper campus authorities. The alert is made to put everyone on notice, thus raising everyone’s awareness. It is this notice that is designed to prevent further victims, as well as possible capture of the perpetrator(s).

Campus Emergency Notifications are triggered by a far broader range of threats. These threats are significant emergencies or dangerous situations that involve an imminent threat to the health or safety of the campus community. This includes non-criminal incidents such as an outbreak of a communicable illness, an impending weather emergency or a criminal incident such as an active threat. This type of notification is issued without delay upon confirmation of the emergency by the proper campus authorities.

The timing of the two types of notices can and do differ. Although we live in an age of information, instant communication isn’t always reasonable. For instance, if the information is not complete then wrong information could be transmitted. That can cause a variety of problems for the college, as well as for the community as a whole. The clock starts ticking when an incident is reported but for campus authorities to properly assess the information and determine its validity, it takes time.

For the most part, both types of notices are done the same. Text messages, a message on the website and campus-wide emails are used as part of the college’s mass notification policy. There are times when the siren might have to be used or the mass notification system or fire alarms. Also, depending on the incident, flyers or messages on digital media screens might be used. Although flyers and digital display screens are more helpful in a crime alert, they are only secondary in an emergency notification if used as part of that process.