Timely Warning

Roger Williams University will issue ‘Timely Warnings’ in compliance with the Clery Act to alert the campus community about crimes that pose a serious or continuing threat to safety. Timely Warnings may be issued for on-going or imminent threats both on and off-campus and will aid in the prevention of similar occurrences. The decision to issue a Timely Warning is decided on a case by case basis in light of all the facts surrounding an incident, including factors such as the nature of the crime, the continuing threat to the campus community and the possible risk of compromising law enforcement efforts and are not limited to crimes being committed by persons not known to the victim. Timely Warnings may be issued for specific crime classifications: arson, aggravated assaults, criminal homicide, robbery, burglaries and sex offenses. Timely Warnings may also be posted for other crime and incident classifications as deemed necessary. Before issuing a Timely Warning, the Vice President of Student Life or designee may confer with the Director of Public Safety or designee, the Dean of Student Life or designee, and other University Officials such as the President and the Core Emergency Response Team (CERT) to determine the message that will inform the campus community of the threat. The Vice President of Student Life or designee ultimately sends the Timely Warnings which will be widely distributed throughout campus in manners such as: provided to campus media, posted on the DPS website and, to the extent possible, posted in off-campus areas frequented by students, emailed, text message and left on voice mail as quickly as possible to building Coordinators and select University offices. The Vice President of Student Life or designee will also be responsible for updates to the Timely Warning notice and for clearing the Timely Warning notice once the threat is over.

Information included in a “Timely Warning” may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• A succinct statement regarding the circumstances surrounding the incident.
• Possible connection to previous incidents, if applicable.
• Physical description of the suspect; to include the identity and or photo.
• Composite drawing of the suspect, if available.
• Date, time and general location where the incident occurred.
• Other relevant crime prevention tips and information.
• Victims’ personally identifiable information will never be given.
• Updates to the Timely Warning notice.
• Clearing the Timely Warning notice once threat is over.