Emergency Notifications and Timely Warnings
Emergency Notifications
Under the Clery Act, the university issues emergency notifications to students and employees when certain threatening events take place within CSU’s Clery geography.
When is an emergency notification necessary?
Under the Clery Act, the institution is required to notify the university community as soon as there is reasonable confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation occurring on a campus that involves an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees. The university is not required to alert the university community if a threat is immediately contained.
An immediate threat includes an imminent or impending threat, such as an active assailant, approaching tornado, or fire currently raging in one of our buildings. To report an emergency that presents such a threat, call 911 immediately and identify your location to the dispatcher.
How does CSU determine if an emergency notification should be issued due to a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to health and safety?
CSU police immediately gather information upon responding to a report of an emergency or dangerous situation and evaluate the situation as quickly as possible for any immediate risk to the university community.
Information can be limited in the first moments of a police response, but officers will work to quickly gather initial information from as many people as possible, visually assess the situation, and look for evidence of a crime. If the information available indicates that there is an immediate risk to health and safety of campus, even if a report has not been verified as credible, the responding CSUPD officer or officers will alert their supervisors to request a review for an emergency notification. Supervisors will immediately contact the chief of police or designee with known information for immediate consideration. The chief or designee will initiate the process of sending an emergency notification.
When initiating the process for considering an emergency notification, the chief or designee will consider the overall safety of the university community. The chief or designee also will provide information appropriate to include in the notification about the incident to the public information officer or the information officer’s backup to craft the alert. The chief of police or designee and the public information officer will, without delay, and considering the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system, unless issuing a notification will, in the professional judgment of responsible authorities, compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to or otherwise mitigate the emergency. Information that may harm the victim or compromise emergency response will not be included in a notification.
The information officer will coordinate notification language with the chief or designee for an immediate review for accuracy, and then send out the notification.
When an emergency or dangerous situation is reported to the CSU Police Department, the chief of police or designee will consider the facts known at that time to assess the nature of the emergency, its severity, and the areas or segments of the university community that are endangered.
The decision to issue an emergency notification may be made by the CSU chief of police, an officer expressly authorized by the chief of police, or by the Public Safety Team. Because of the urgent nature of these notices, the university’s primary objective will be to confirm whether emergency conditions exist as quickly as possible, and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system without delay.
When it is confirmed by the university that a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees is occurring on or nearby a campus or other locations as required by the Clery Act, the university will issue an emergency notification.
The emergency notification is issued immediately upon confirmation that a dangerous situation or emergency exists or is threatened.
During extreme circumstances, such as an active assailant, CSUPD dispatch may send an emergency alert and then the Chief of Police or designee and the Public Information Officer will coordinate follow up message content and the PIO will send those messages, leaving dispatch available to manage emergency calls.
The university weighs possible risk of compromising law enforcement efforts or endangering a victim of a crime before sending an emergency notification.
If a threat has been immediately contained by law enforcement, or if the incident appeared to be targeted toward specific individuals known to the assailant and there is no threat to other individuals, no warning is issued.
Some examples of situations in which an emergency notification would be considered include:
- Approaching tornado or other extreme weather
- Large scale gas leak or chemical spill on or near a
- Armed intruder, active assailant or active shooter on or near
- Explosion or large fire on a campus.
The only reason that CSU would not immediately issue a notification for a confirmed ongoing emergency or dangerous situation would be if doing so would compromise efforts to:
- Assist a victim
- Contain the emergency
- Respond to the emergency, or
- otherwise mitigate the emergency
This determination will be re-evaluated and, if situations change, an emergency notification may be issued.
Determining Segments of the Campus Community to Receive an Emergency Notification
University and local first responders provide information that may be included in an emergency notification and will help determine what segments of the university community should receive the notification. To determine who receives a notification, CSUPD and the public information officer will consult about whether a risk is contained to a specific population or area of a campus and the type of alert being issued.
Most emergency notifications will be sent to the entire university community. Some messages may be segmented through a variety of communications channels to include verbal instructions or flyers to individuals in a specific building or area, or through message lists to segmented populations, such as individuals living in a specific residence hall.
These notifications can be expanded to include other segments or the entire university population as the situation unfolds. The entire university will be notified if a threat is not contained to one geographical location or one population. The university’s text and other electronic alert systems generally do not segment populations, but send to all university members who are enrolled to receive them. In addition, most alerts and notifications are copied verbatim and shared on social media and the university’s safety website.
Generally, all university employees and students will receive notifications, including email messages, and a text message to subscribers. All employees and students are strongly urged to sign up for text alerts; no segment of the university population is automatically enrolled. Students may enroll and verify their information through RamWeb (https://ramweb.colostate.edu) and employees may enroll and verify their information through the Human Resources self‐ service portal (https://hr.colostate.edu/current-employees/payroll/employee-self-service/).
These notifications are sent any time an emergency is reported that meets the criteria for an emergency alert, including in the middle of the night.
CSU may target specific areas or buildings on a campus with emergency notification or timely warning information in addition to or instead of mass notification or may select only specific buildings in which to share an emergency alert.
The university may also post messages about the dangerous condition on the Safety website and the shared CSUPD and Public Safety Team social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter). If assistance is needed from additional law enforcement or emergency response agencies, they will be contacted by CSUPD to request assistance. If local media is helpful or necessary to disseminate any alerts, such outlets will be contacted for assistance.
In some cases, the main university social media accounts also will share emergency information.
Emergency notifications may be issued to the entire university community through some or all of the following:
- The CSU emergency email system, which sends emails to all students and No one can opt out of receiving messages
- Postings to the Safety website – safety.colostate.edu
- The CSU opt in emergency text alert system Students and employees are strongly encouraged to sign up for the university’s emergency text notification system and to periodically check to make sure that their mobile number in the system is correct. Students may enroll and verify their information through RamWeb (https://ramweb.colostate.edu/registrar/Public/Login.aspx) and employees may enroll and verify their information through the Human Resources self‐service portal. It only takes a few moments to sign up for alerts, and doing so may help save your life or the life of another.
- Students studying and employees working at the Sturm Collaboration Campus at the Arapahoe Community College are encouraged to sign up for Arapahoe Community College’s emergency alert system. To do so, download the ACC Alert App on to your smart phone. You can download the app at https://apparmor.apparmor.com/clients/arapahoe.edu/.
- More information about Arapahoe Community College campus safety can be found at https://www.arapahoe.edu/advising-support/student-support/campus-safety.
- Fliers or printed notices sent to specific offices or university community members where the threat is targeted and not immediate.
- Posted on one or more of the university’s social media
Depending upon the level of threat and context of the emergency, emergency notifications may also be shared via:
- Reverse 911 calls or the Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority
- Cable television messages
- University homepage at colostate.edu
- Main university social media accounts
- University’s online newsletter SOURCE (https://source.colostate.edu/)
- Parent & Family online newsletter (https://parentsandfamily.colostate.edu/the-hub/) and social media accounts (called Colorado State Parents & Families on Facebook)
- CSU status recorded line 970-491-7669
Timely Warnings
When is a timely warning necessary?
When a Clery crime which occurred on Clery geography is reported to CSUPD or the Title IX office, the report is assessed for whether a serious or continuing threat is present. CSU is responsible for issuing a timely warning if a Clery Act crime has been reported on Clery geography and CSU determines there is a serious or continuing threat to the university community. The Clery Act does not define “timely,” but the intent of the warning is to promptly provide information to people to help them prevent or protect themselves from similar crimes. Timely warnings sometimes are issued before complete information is available and before police can determine if a report is credible.
How are timely warnings issued?
Once an initial report of a crime has been received that may fit the criteria for a timely warning, the CSUPD chief or designee will determine if a timely warning should be issued. Determining if a timely warning will be sent depends on the information reported, the timing of the report, and if continuing threat to the campus community is present.
Timely warnings may be issued to the entire university community through:
- The CSU emergency email system, which sends emails to all students and employees. No one can opt out of receiving messages.
- Postings to the Safety website at safety.colostate.edu.
- The CSU opt in emergency text alert system. Students and employees are strongly encouraged to sign up for the university’s emergency text notification system and to periodically check to make sure that their mobile number in the system is correct. Students may enroll and verify their information through RamWeb (https://ramweb.colostate.edu/registrar/Public/Login.aspx) and employees may enroll and verify their information through the Human Resources self‐service portal. It only takes a few moments to sign up for alerts, and doing so may help save your life or the life of another.
- Students studying and employees working at the Sturm Collaboration Campus are encouraged to sign up for Arapahoe Community College’s emergency alert system. To do so, download the ACC Alert App on to your smart phone. You can download the app at https://apparmor.apparmor.com/clients/arapahoe.edu/. More information about Arapahoe Community College campus safety can be found at https://www.arapahoe.edu/advising-support/student-support/campus-safety.
- Fliers or printed notices sent to specific offices or university community members where the threat is targeted and not immediate.
- Warnings may also be posted on one or more of the university’s social media sites.
Depending upon the level of threat and context of the emergency, emergency notification and timely warning messages may also be shared via:
- Cable television messages
- Reverse 911 calls or the Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority
- University homepage at colostate.edu
- Main university social media accounts
- University’s online newsletter SOURCE (https://source.colostate.edu/)
- Parent & Family online newsletter (https://parentsandfamily.colostate.edu/) and social media accounts (called Colorado State Parents & Families on Facebook)
- CSU status recorded line 970‐491‐7669
Emergency email and text notification systems will be tested throughout the year, using test messages.
Determining the Content of the Emergency Notification or Timely Warning
The chief of police or designated officer and the CSUPD public information officer or designee will determine the content of the message. These individuals will rapidly discuss known facts that can be released without compromising a police investigation.
Those issuing the notification will use the following guidelines when determining the contents of the emergency message:
- Initial alerts warn all or part of the university community of a danger and the actions they should take to safeguard their safety.
- Information pertaining to the reported incident will be screened to include the most information as possible, based on what occurred, where it occurred, and when it occurred.
- To achieve this, notifications may include available information such as descriptive phrases or words about the incident (such as robbery, assault, or hazardous materials spill), the location where an incident was reported to have occurred, the time of the incident or threat, and information that may assist with emergency response, such as a suspect description.
- Messages distributed in the early stage of a rapidly unfolding emergency will generally be short, precise, and directive. Examples include: “CSU Alert: Assault reported outside of the south entrance to the Lory Student Center. Suspect is white female wearing a pink shirt, jeans. May be armed with a tire iron.”
- Subsequent messages may be sent to inform the university community about additional details of the situation if new information becomes available, or to clarify initial information that has already been shared. These messages are generally distributed once first responders have additional information about the reported situation. Examples include: “CSU Alert 2: Suspect last seen running south through Lory Student Center plaza. Call 911 if suspect seen. When available updates at safety.colostate.edu.”
- When possible, an all‐clear notice is sent once the situation is nearly or completely resolved.
- The purpose of this message is to reassure the community that the university is working diligently to resolve the dangerous situation.
- It can also be used to provide additional information about the situation and where resources will be available.
- The notification goal is to ensure individuals are aware of the situation and that they know the steps to take to safeguard their personal and community safety.
- Some situations do not reach a clear resolution, such as the location and arrest of a suspect, so it is not possible to always issue an all‐clear.
In all emergency notifications and timely warnings, the university will follow procedures to assure that the names or identifying characteristics of crime victims are not publicly disclosed, including a review of the content of notifications by the CSU Police Department Chief.
Sharing information with the community outside of the university
- When all students receive an emergency notification, Student Affairs may share the content of that notification through its Parents and Family email list.
- The university also may post the text of all emergency notifications that are shared with the majority of the university community on its safety website (http://www.safety.colostate.edu/).
- Emergency notifications shared with only a geographical or segmented portion of the university population will generally not be shared online.
The content of emergency notifications is generally also shared via the Public Safety Team and CSU Police Department