Timely Warnings & Campus Advisories
Timely Warnings
The HUPD provides timely warnings to the University community when Clery Act crimes occur within Harvard’s Clery Act Geography, are reported to campus security authorities or local law enforcement, and represents a serious or continuing threat to students and employees. Whether to disseminate a timely warning will be decided by the Chief of Police or their designee and in consultation with others, when time permits, on a case-by-case basis in light of all the facts surrounding the crime and the continuing danger to the campus community. The purpose of the warning is to aid in the prevention of similar crimes by alerting the community about the incident and providing information on the actions people can take to diminish their chances of being victimized.
The amount and type of information presented in the warning will vary depending on the circumstances of the crime. If there is certain information that could compromise law enforcement efforts, it may be withheld from the timely warning notice. An effort will always be made to distribute a warning as soon as pertinent information is available so that the warning is a preventive tool, not solely a description of the incident.
Timely Warning Notices are typically issued for the following crimes occurring within University Clery Act geography when reported to local law enforcement or a Campus Security Authority and when representing a serious or continuing threat to students and employees: major incidents of arson, aggravated assault, a series of burglaries that occur in reasonably close proximity to one another, murder/non-negligent manslaughter, manslaughter by negligence, robbery, motor vehicle theft, and sex offenses. Cases of aggravated assault and sex offenses are considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the facts of the case and the information known by the HUPD. For example, if assault is an alleged to have occurred between two students who have a disagreement, there may be no on-going threat to other Harvard University community members and a Timely Warning Notice would not be distributed. Cases involving sexual assault are often reported long after the incident occurred, in which case there is no ability to distribute a timely warning notice to the community. Thus, whether to issue a Timely Warning Notice based on a reported sex offense will be determined on a case by case basis depending on when and where the incident occurred, when it was reported, and the amount of information known by HUPD. Similarly, HUPD will assess reports of property crimes and will distribute a Timely Warning Notice in the event of a pattern of crime that poses a serious or continuing threat to the community. The Chief of Police or designee reviews all reports to determine if there is an on-going threat to the community and if the distribution of a Timely Warning Notice is warranted. Timely Warning Notices will be issued to students and employees in a manner that is timely, that withholds the names of the victims as confidential, and in a manner that aids in the prevention of future similar crimes.
Timely Warning Notices are typically written and distributed by staff in the Office of the Chief of Police. Harvard Public Affairs & Communications (HPAC) is also authorized to distribute Timely Warning Notices, at the discretion of the Chief of Police or their designee. Timely Warning Notices are distributed to the Harvard University community via blast email and posted on the HUPD website. Because many members of our community travel between the Cambridge and Longwood campuses, as a courtesy, Timely Warning Notices covering a crime on one campus will be sent to both campuses. The University also regularly shares the content of Timely Warnings with law enforcement and emergency services partners and requests the cooperation of local law enforcement and emergency partners to notify the University of crimes.
Counseling and Mental Health Services (CAMHS) providers or Harvard Chaplains who receive notice of Clery Act crimes in their confidential role are exempt from reporting as campus security authorities, and so crimes reported to them in confidence will not be passed on to be sent as Timely Warnings.
Campus Advisories
In certain cases, the University may issue alerts to the community for incidents or crimes that do not meet the technical definitions of Emergency Notifications or Timely Warnings under the Clery Act. These alerts are developed by the Chief of Police or designee and other University officials on a case by case basis and called Campus Advisories.