Policy on Timely Warnings and Emergency Notifications

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to set forth the circumstances and procedures for both immediate notifications and timely warning notices to the New York Medical College (the “College”) community before a potential catastrophic emergency event occurs. The College has implemented two types of alerting systems for separate and distinct purposes in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the Clery Act), found in section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

II. POLICY

It is the policy of the College to issue an alert via the College’s emergency notification system, email, text message, website, and/or notices posted in campus buildings in the following circumstances:

A. Emergency Notification:

1. The Director of Public Safety or their designee will issue a notification to the College community when there is confirmation of a catastrophic event or dangerous incident occurring on campus involving an immediate threat of physical harm or death to community members.
2. An Emergency Notification may be sent to the entire College community or be limited to an affected portion of the community.

B. Timely Warning:

1. When the College issues an Emergency Notification, it is not required to activate its Timely Warning notice procedures.
2. The Director of Public Safety or their designee will develop Timely Warning notices for the purpose of notifying the College community about crimes identified in the Clery Act that may pose a serious or ongoing threat to the College community.
3. Timely Warnings will be sent to the entire campus community.

III. SCOPE

This policy applies to New York Medical College and Touro College of Dental Medicine.

IV. PROCEDURES

A. Any member of the College community who possesses information about a situation on campus that may cause a threat or emergency situation to the College community is responsible for contacting Public Safety and transmitting the information.

B. Emergency Notifications:

1. The Director of Public Safety or their designee shall make the decision whether to issue an Emergency Notification on a case-by-case basis. Considerations shall include verification of the emergency or dangerous situation, an assessment of the level of the threat to the health or safety of students or employees on campus, and identification of the relevant segment(s) of the College community.
2. Events subject to Emergency Notification may include, but are not limited to, an active shooter incident, hostage situation, riot, weather emergency, suspicious package with confirmation of a device, fire/explosion, suspicious death, structural damage to a College owned/controlled facility, biological threat, significant flooding, gas leak, hazardous material spill, etc.
3. Once the Director of Public Safety or their designee has confirmed the existence of a significant emergency or dangerous situation using the above criteria, an Emergency Notification shall be issued immediately.
4. An Emergency Notification will, at a minimum, include the following:
   a. Date, nature, location, and timeframe of the threat
   b. What changes one needs to make immediately as a result
   c. Evacuation procedures (if necessary)
   d. Assurance that an all-clear will be sent when emergency is over
5. An Emergency Notification may include other information as deemed appropriate by the Office of Public Safety. Caution will be taken not to issue such a lengthy warning that the message cannot be quickly understood. Names of victims will be withheld.

C. Timely Warnings:

1. The Director of Public Safety or their designee shall make the decision whether to issue a Timely Warning on a case-by-case basis. Considerations shall include the nature of the crime and the continuing danger to the campus community, and the possible risk of compromising law enforcement efforts.
2. Timely Warnings are required when Clery Act Crimes (see below) are reported directly to Public Safety or indirectly through a Campus Security Authority (CSA) or local law enforcement. A CSA is responsible for reporting crime information to the Office of Public Safety.
3. A CSA, as defined in the Clery Act, is an individual responsible for one or more of the following functions at New York Medical College:
   a. Public safety department.
   b. Responsibility for campus security but not part of public safety.
   c. Someone identified as a person to whom a crime can be reported.
   d. Any college official with significant responsibility for student or campus activities.
4. On an annual basis, the Office of Public Safety will send out emails to the following list of departments. Public Safety will request that each department provide a current list of names of those employees fitting the criteria of a CSA, as described above.
   
   

   a. Office of Medical Student Affairs in the School of Medicine
   b. Office of the Dean of the School of Medicine
   c. Office of the Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
   d. Office of the Dean of the School of Health Sciences & Practice
   e. Office of the Dean of Touro College of Dental Medicine at NYMC
   f. Office of Student & Residential Life
   g. Office of Academic Excellence
   h. Office of International Students and Scholars
   i. Office of Campus Engagement
   j. Other relevant departments, as determined by Public Safety.

5. The Office of Public Safety will maintain this list and notify all identified CSAs (including continuing CSAs) on an annual basis that they are designated as a CSA. Each designee will be provided with a training materials to remind them of their responsibilities under the Clery Act.
6. Timely Warnings will be distributed to all members of the community when any of the following Clery Act Crimes occur on campus, on public property within or immediately adjacent to campus, and in or on certain non-campus buildings or property that NYMC owns or controls:
   
   

   a. Primary crimes – murder and non-negligent manslaughter, manslaughter by negligence, rape, fondling, incest, statutory rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson
   b. Hate crimes – any of the above primary crimes, theft, simple assault, intimidation, or vandalism if motivated by bias
   c. Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) offenses – domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking
   d. Arrests and referrals for disciplinary action – for violations of weapons, drug and liquor laws

7. Timely Warnings will, at a minimum, include the following information:
   
   

   a. Date, nature, location of incident
   b. Suspect description, if appropriate and there is sufficient detail (sex and race alone are insufficient descriptors and will not be shared without additional details)
   c. Prevention and safety tips
   d. How to report a similar occurrence

8. A Timely Warning may include other information as deemed appropriate by the Office of Public Safety. Names of victims will be withheld.

D. In determining whether an Emergency Notification or Timely Warning should be issued, the Director of Public Safety or their designee may consult with members of the NYMC senior leadership, but such consultation should not unnecessarily delay the distribution of the Emergency Notification or Timely Warning.

E. The College will, without delay and taking into account the safety of the College community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system, unless issuing a notification will, in the professional judgment of the Director of Public Safety or their designee, compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.

F. Notifications under this policy may be sent via the College’s emergency notification system, email, text message, website, or notices posted in campus buildings, as appropriate.

G. Timely Warnings or Emergency Notifications may be updated if new or more accurate information becomes available.

H. The procedures for any emergency directives given in notifications under this policy, such as an evacuation or lockdown, may be found in the NYMC Emergency Action Plan, located on the NYMC Public Safety webpage.

The following chart summarizes the differences between Timely Warnings and Emergency Notifications and is intended to provide guidance to the Director of Public Safety and their designee(s) in implementing this Policy:

V. EFFECTIVE DATE

This policy is effective immediately.

VI. REFERENCES

NYMC Emergency Action Plan
NYMC Annual Security and Fire Safety Report

VII. POLICY MANAGEMENT

Executive Stakeholder: Director of Public Safety
Oversight Office: Public Safety