Timely Warnings, Safety Alerts & Emergency Notifications

The purpose of this policy and procedure is to establish and describe formal written guidelines pertaining to the Jeanne Clery Safety Act, Timely Warning and Emergency Notification requirements as it relates to the main campus of the State University of New York at Plattsburgh (SUNY Plattsburgh).

Date	Version Number	Change Description	Referenced Section
2/3/09	1.0	New Document	Entire Document
7/29/11	1.1	Minor Revisions
10/15/15	1.2	Minor Revisions
1/6/17	1.3	Minor Revisions
10/12/18	1.4	Minor Revisions
9/12/25	2.0	Major Revisions	1.0-7.0

 Review Process / Approval

Action:	Units	Date
Policy Review	Management Services
Policy Approval	Executive Council

Students, employees and visitors.

Timely Warning — A notification to the campus community for Clery Crimes that occur our Clery Geography, reported to a Campus Security Authority or local police, that are considered by the institution to represent a serious or continuing threat to students and employees. 

Safety Alert — A notification issued for circumstances which may be criminal in nature but may pose a significant or continuing threat to the campus community or segments of the campus community. Safety Alerts may not always be issued campus-wide and may be issued selectively to affected areas. 

Emergency Notification— A notification issued for a significant emergency or dangerous situation that poses an immediate threat to the health or safety of some or all of the members of our campus community. 

Campus Security Authority — A campus police department or any individual who has responsibility for campus security who is not police, any individual identified by the college as a person to whom students or employees should report criminal offenses, and any individual who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities, including housing, discipline, and judicial proceedings.  Exemption for Professional and Pastoral Counselors acting in their official roles.   

Clery Crimes — Murder, Negligent and Non-Negligent Manslaughter, Rape, Criminal Sexual Conduct, Incest, Statutory Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Motor Vehicle Theft, Arson, Hazing, any of the above mentioned offenses motivated by hate, and Larceny, Simple Assault, Intimidation, Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of property that were motivated by hate, incidents of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence and Stalking, and Arrests and Referrals for illegal Weapons possession, Drug and Liquor Law violations.  

Clery Geography — Includes the SUNY Plattsburgh Campus and public property within or immediately adjacent to the campus, and in or on non-campus buildings or property.  Non-campus property includes buildings or property that is owned or controlled by the institution, supports or is used for the institution’s educational purposes, is frequently used by students, and is not considered part of the core campus.

SUNY NY Alert —  is an emergency notification system that utilizes automated technology to call phones, send text messages, and/or emails to individuals who have registered for the service through the college’s my.plattsburgh.edu portal or through a proxy procedure.

Employees who learn of information that may warrant the issuance of a “Timely Warning”, “Safety Alert,” or “Emergency Notification” should notify University Police as soon as possible.

University Police Department personnel who become aware of information or observe a situation that may require the issuance of a Timely Warning, Safety Alert, or Emergency Notification must promptly report it to their supervisor. If the supervisor is unavailable, they should notify the senior officer on duty and a member of the command staff without delay.

Because Emergency Notifications are time-sensitive, University Police personnel are authorized to issue them immediately, when necessary, without prior approval from command staff, to ensure rapid communication.

Timely Warnings, Safety Alerts, and Emergency Notifications are issued by or at the direction of the:

1. Chief of University Police 
2. Director of Emergency Management 
3. Any University Police Officer or Dispatcher
4. Vice President, Enrollment and Student Success
5. Vice President, Administration and Finance
6. College President

Authorizing individuals will determine if sufficient and accurate information exists to warrant the issuance of a Timely Warning, Safety Alert, or Emergency.

Timely Warnings

Timely Warnings are required for all incidents that constitute Clery Act Crimes and are considered to represent a serious or continuing threat to the campus community. These crimes include:

1. Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter,
2. Sex Offenses,
3. Robbery,
4. Aggravated Assault,
5. Burglary,
6. Motor Vehicle Theft,
7. Arson, 
8. Hate Crimes, and
9. Hazing

The decision to issue a Timely Warning will be made on a case-by-case basis after review by the Chief of University Police or designee, and other campus leadership, as necessary, taking into account the nature of the crime, the extent of any continuing danger to the campus community, and whether content of the timely warning could impede law enforcement efforts.   

Once the decision has been made to issue a timely warning, the issuing official will determine its content. Consultation with the Vice President of Student Success and the President’s Communication’s Director is suggested for drafting a message. The timely warning will include enough pertinent information to promote safety and aid in the prevention of similar crimes. Timely warnings will not contain the names of victims or other information that could identify them.

Safety Alerts

Safety Alerts may be issued for situations other than “Clery Act” crimes that may pose a serious or continuing threat to the campus community (e.g. kidnapping) and non-criminal emergencies that pose a significant or continuing threat to the campus community or a segment of the campus community (e.g. weather related emergencies, maintenance issues, environmental health and safety issues, etc.)

Emergency Notifications

Emergency Notifications are required for all significant emergency or dangerous situations that pose an immediate threat to the health or safety of some or all of the members of our campus community. (e.g., an active shooter is present in a campus building, several random arsons have occurred in a single night in occupied areas on campus, etc.)  

Those authorized to issue alerts will determine the type of alert to issue and the dissemination method. Dissemination methods may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. SUNY NY Alert (through Everbridge)
2. Campus Rooftop Speaker Notification
3. Campus-wide email
4. Desktop notification
5. Posters or flyers
6. On/off campus media releases
7. Angell College Center & Memorial Hall digital display/marquee
8. Patrol car PA announcement

Message Form and Content
When issuing a Timely Warning, Safety Alert or Emergency notification, authorized individuals will include the following, as appropriate:

1. Title: Timely Warning, Safety Alert, Emergency Notification, Information Bulletin
2. Authorizing authority
3. Date of issuance
4. Date, time, and location of offense or situation
5. Description of offense or situation
6. Description of suspects
7. Suspect’s direction and mode of travel when fleeing incident
8. Safety instructions/advice

Follow-up messages should be issued as appropriate (i.e. No longer a threat, suspect in custody, updated details, etc.)

The Chief of Police will complete a Crime Alert/Emergency Notification form (see Section 8.0 Forms below ) following the issuance of a Timely Warning or Emergency Notification.  Such reports will be uploaded to an IMPACT RMS Blotter record and retained for a period of at least 7 years.   

• Crime Alert & Emergency Notification Form

• My Plattsburgh
• SUNY Plattsburgh Homepage
• SUNY Plattsburgh Emergency Management

Method	Date
Campus Handbook	N/A
Faculty / Staff Digest	9/15/25
Student Digest	N/A
Other	N/A

There are no specific trainings identified with this policy.