Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, the Cornell University Police Department provides notification to the university community in the form of Timely Warnings and Emergency Mass Notifications (voice, text, email, and sirens) when a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees, including significant criminal incidents, occurs on campus or in an area surrounding campus that represents a continuing public safety threat.
Decisions to disseminate a communication will be decided on a case-by-case basis, in light of all the facts surrounding the crime and the continuing danger to the campus community. The purpose of the notification is to aid in the prevention of similar crimes by alerting the community about the incident and providing information on actions people can take to diminish their chances of being victimized.
What is it?
In the event that a situation arises, either on or off campus, which, in the judgment of the Chief of Cornell Police or his/her designee, constitutes a serious or continuing threat to students and employees or the greater community of the institution, a campus-wide “timely warning” will be issued. The warning will be sent as a Crime Alert. It also will be posted after the initial mailing on the university’s website, cupolice.cornell.edu/crime-alerts/.
These Crime Alerts contain a brief description of the incident; the date, time, location of the incident; and precautions to take; however, they will not provide details as found in a press release or news article. The amount and type of information presented in the warning will vary depending on the circumstances of the crime. Warnings will be issued unless issuing a notification will, in the professional judgement of responsible authorities, compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.
Significant criminal incidents that might elicit a timely warning include, but are not limited to crimes of violence, Clery reportable crimes, or patterns of property crimes. Anyone with information warranting a timely warning should report the circumstances to the Cornell Police, by phone (607) 255-1111 or in person at the dispatch center in Barton Hall.