Dear Editor,
The March 29 column in the Eastern Echo headlined “Are we getting all the Timely Warnings we should?” offers a good chance to clarify when the Eastern Michigan University campus community will receive such a notification and the circumstances that prompt such a message to be sent.
The Echo article recounts an incident in which the author says she overheard a resident screaming, urging someone to put down a knife. The author says she called EMU police, who responded to the incident, after which the screaming stopped.
The article suggested the incident was an appropriate time to send out a Timely Warning to campus.
In this context, it’s important to note that the Eastern Michigan University Police Department is dedicated to keeping the campus community informed about crime on campus and in surrounding areas.
EMU Police issue Timely Warnings about crimes that potentially represent an immediate or continuing threat to students, faculty or staff, and which are directly reported to the department.
Most often, these warnings involve an incident on or very near to campus, in which a suspect(s) has not been apprehended, with a key goal being minimal delay in the reporting of the incident. Such warnings are sent in accordance with the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, known as the “Clery Act.”
The EMU Police Chief or designee reviews all reports to determine if there is an ongoing threat to the community and if the distribution of an Alert/Timely Warning is warranted.
For example, if an assault occurs between two students who have a disagreement, there may be no ongoing threat to other EMU community members and an Alert/Timely Warning would not be distributed.
In the case described in the Echo article, EMU Police responded quickly and investigated, but could verify no threat.
The guiding principle in issuing the alerts described above is keeping you properly informed, along with preserving the safety and security of the EMU community.
For further details about timely warnings, please visit the EMU Police website or the Annual Security Report. If you have further questions, please contact EMU Chief of Police Bob Heighes at 734-487-1222, or email him at rheighes@emich.edu.
-Geoff Larcom
