The Clery Act requires that “institutions must issue a timely warning for any Clery Act crime that occurs within Clery geography that is: (i) reported to campus security authorities; and (ii) is considered by the institution to represent a serious or continuing threat to students and employees.”
According to the Clery Act, the timely warning must be issued in a timely manner and will withhold the names and personally identifying information about the victims as defined within Section 40002(a) (20) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994.
The timely warning will aid in the prevention of similar crimes, which may include incidents where the 91ԹϺ Police Department has identified a pattern of risk. A timely warning with respect to crimes reported to a pastoral or professional counselor is not required by WSU.
WSU issues timely warnings as described in the Timely Warnings and Emergency Notification Policy, . The policy applies to all locations that WSU has identified as Clery geography and are provided for Clery Act crimes that occur on Clery geography that:
- Are reported to campus security authorities (CSAs) or local police agencies, and
- Are considered by the University to represent a serious or continuing threat to the safety of students, employees, or other members of the campus community.
Examples of reported situations requiring a timely warning include, but are not limited to:
- Campus Office/Lab burglaries;
- Hate crimes;
- Serial rapes;
- Other incidents, events, and conditions.
Timely warnings are issued when a Clery Act crime occurs on Clery geography that is reported to CSAs or local police agencies and represents a serious or continuing threat to the safety of students or employees. The decision to issue a timely warning is made on a case-by-case basis, considering the following factors:
- The nature of the crime or incident;
- The potential risk to the campus community;
- The need to avoid compromising law enforcement efforts; and
- The potential impact on ongoing investigations.
Timely warnings are not required with respect to crimes reported to professional counselors.
Timely warnings are issued by the responsible designee who works in coordinator with local law enforcement agencies, WSU Emergency Management, Campus Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), Campus Student Affairs, Compliance and Civil Rights (CCR), Human Resource Services (HRS), the Threat Assessment Team (TAT), or any other university entity with relevant information, as needed.
Timely warnings include information that would enable members of the University community to take actions to protect themselves, and may include information such as the nature of the crime/incident(s), the date, time, and location of the incident(s), physical and/or behavioral characteristics of the suspect(s), and safety precautions and recommendations for the campus community.