University right-to-know, campus security act

Annual Report
October 1, 2007

You are key to a safe campus. Your preventive measures reduce safety risks for you and every member of the campus community. The university continues to develop and implement security measures, but success never comes without a committed campus community. Safety begins with YOU.

This page includes practices and policies relative to campus security and references programs and resources which provide more detailed security information.

I. Reporting of criminal actions

For the purpose of the Act, the offenses for which statistics must be reported are defined in accordance with the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) System (see information under III).

Students should report criminal actions occurring on campus property directly to police by dialing 911 (from pay phones or public phones) or 9-911 (from campus phones). In addition, student should report crimes to the university as follows:

a. Students should report criminal actions in and around the residence halls to the campus security officer, a Resident Assistant (RA), a Residence Hall Coordinator (RC) or the Student Life Office. On Friday and Saturday nights, the RA on duty in each residence hall is also available for assistance and reporting of criminal actions. A security officer is available weekdays 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. and 24 hours on weekends. (Note: Calls to security may be heard publicly over hand-held radio.)

Written incidents reports must be made within 48 hours by the RA or RC to the Student Life Office and finally to the Dean of Student Services. Campus security officers will report their involvement to the Director of Physical Plant who will forward the report to the Student Life Office for any follow-up.

b. Criminal action in other campus facilities, including university- owned, off-campus housing, should be reported to Campus Security, Director of Physical Plant, the Dean of Student Services (student housing) or the Vice President for Administrative Services (off-campus, university-owned student or employee housing). Written reports will be filed in the Dean of Student Services office within 48 hours.

c. Information on crimes recorded by the security officer during night and weekend security duty is collected by the Director of Physical Plant and distributed to the Vice President for Administrative Services, the Student Life Office and the Dean of Student Services. Security officers work closely with the Seward Police Department and are authorized to request police assistance with criminal or suspected criminal action on campus property. Security officers maintain their own communication system for contacting the police.

d. Local police will be contacted by any of the noted campus security authorities when the behavior of any person on campus property poses a threat to the safety of the campus community. The Seward police agree to inform the Dean of Student Services of criminal activity they encounter on campus property.

II. Policies concerning campus facilities: access and security

a. Access to campus academic and extra-curricular facilities Students, employees and the public have access to campus facilities during normal working hours which are posted at the building or available through campus security. Students are not allowed to be in academic buildings after the buildings have been closed by security unless approved by the building manager.

b. Access to residence halls

Detailed information on access to and the security of the residence halls is provided in the Student Handbook. Interior security doors that allow direct access to the residential floors are locked in accordance with these hours. These doors are locked and unlocked by residence hall staff and maintained during the night by security.

As a maintenance practice, room doors found unlocked will be locked by maintenance personnel.

Areas with open access are patrolled by campus security. Non-members of the university community will be required to leave the premises unless in the company of a Concordia student or employee. All entrances are locked 24 hours a day via an electronic security system. Access to halls is provided via coded campus ID cards. Lost or stolen cards are deactivated from the system immediately following a report filed with the Student Life Office.

Off-campus guests are expected to abide by all campus policies and codes, and their resident host is responsible for informing them of the information. Residents of the hall and hall staff have the authority to demand a guest leave the hall when displaying behavior that poses a threat or is disruptive of the normal functioning of the floor and/or residents. Campus security, student life office personnel or the police should be called if a guest refuses to leave.

c. Campus security

The university provides and contracts for trained security officers. Campus security measures will at a minimum include

1. Locking & unlocking facilities at scheduled times;
2. Checking facilities for fire and vandalism;
3. Monitoring and responding to electronic alarm and surveillance equipment;
4. Monitoring and reporting criminal activity on campus property as indicated in previous paragraphs;
5. Maintaining a log of activity during duty shifts;
6. Surveillance of the campus by intermittent rounds.

Campus security officers have the authority to

1. Assist hall residents with access when locked out of their residence hall room. The resident must provide their student ID to the officer either prior to entry or immediately thereafter. (The officer has the authority to remove the person from the room for failure to show proper ID.)
2. Require students and visitors to comply with the facilities hours of operation;
3. Summon police to assist with criminal or emergency situations and detain persons for questioning or arrest by police as necessary.

d. RA-on-duty program

To assure availability of hall staff to residents on weekend nights, RAs sign up for weekend duty schedules for Friday and Saturday nights. Information as to who is on duty in the hall is posted at least on the RC’s door.

III. Dissemination of reports on crimes considered a threat to students and employees

The Dean of Student Services will annually distribute a current report of statistics to the campus community regarding the following campus crimes (as defined by the Clery Act):

Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter: the willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another.

Negligent Manslaughter: the killing of another person through gross negligence.

Sex offenses-Forcible: any sexual act directed against another person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent.

Sex Offenses-Non-forcible: incidents of unlawful, non-forcible sexual intercourse (i.e., incest, statutory rape).

Statutory Rape: non-forcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.

Robbery: taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or person by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.
Aggravated assault: unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm.

Burglary: the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft.

Motor vehicle theft: theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle.

Arson: any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc.

Hate crimes: any of the aforementioned offences, and any other crime involving bodily injury that manifest evidence that the victim was intentionally selected because of the perpetrator’s bias.

Police will be contacted in the likelihood of the incident posing a threat to others. The campus community will be notified through one or more of the following: dissemination through residence hall staff by meeting with hall residents and/or posting of information, or by use of flyers, bulletin boards, general campus publications or other announcements/forums. The purpose of these measures is to aid in the prevention of similar occurrences. Every effort will be made to maintain the confidentiality of the victims of these crimes.

The university must also report law violations referred for disciplinary action and arrests by police made on campus, in residential facilities, at non-campus facilities and public facilities used by the university, for:

Liquor law violations. Violations of laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession or use of alcoholic beverages.

Drug abuse violations. Violations of laws prohibiting the production, distribution and/or use of certain controlled substances and the equipment or devices utilized in their preparation or use.

Weapons possessions. Violations of laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, concealment or use of firearms, cutting instruments, explosives, incendiary devices, or other deadly weapons.

Students and employees are advised to become familiar with the university’s policies regarding alcoholic beverages and other drugs and the civil law with respect to both. These policies and codes are detailed in the student and employee handbooks.

Likewise students should familiarize themselves with the university’s codes regarding the prohibition of weapons or fireworks on campus in the Student Handbook.

The university annually will collect and inform its current students and employees of reportable crimes in a brochure and on the Web (this page) that complies with the Act.  The university will also make available to the Secretary of Education or prospective students and employees upon their request the information on reportable crimes, security procedures and programs of the university.

IV. Programs designed to inform students and employees about substance abuse and crime prevention; policies and procedures

a. Programs include:

• New student orientation
• First year seminar
• Residence hall staff training
• Co-curricular seminars and presentations via the student life education coordinator
• Publications, posters
• Employee presentations

b. Policies and procedures described fully in:

• Student Handbook
• Employee handbooks
• Annual employee statement of awareness and compliance with employer expectations regarding alcohol and other drug use/abuse.

The following information represents our best knowledge of statistics on reportable crimes committed on-campus, in facilities owned or controlled by student organizations, in facilities owned or controlled by the institution for educational purposes, or public property within the contiguous geographic area of the institution for the calendar year listed:

Disciplinary actions listed do not include disciplinary responses to Concordia University Code of Conduct occurring off campus. Additionally, conduct code violations that are not violations of the law are not reported. For example: Alcohol possession on campus by students over twenty-one years of age is not included.

Information about registered sex offenders may be found at the Nebraska State Patrol Website: http://www.nsp.state.ne.us/sor/

* Concordia is required to report allegations of criminal incidents. It is not necessary for allegations to have been investigated by the police or campus security authority. The number of reported allegations does not necessarily mean that the allegations were found to be credible, or that a determinations of guilt or responsibility was made. The reported allegations of sexual offenses may range from inappropriate touching to first degree sexual assault.

Emergency contacts

• Emergency Help, 911 (for fire, rescue, police)
• Campus security, 643-3033 (after 11 p.m. and weekends)
• Seward Police, 643-2579
• Sexual Assault Crisis Line, 1-800-876-6238
• Poison Center, 1-800-955-9119

These offices are open 8 am to 5 pm weekdays:

• Student Life Office (SLO), 643-7411
• Dean of Student Services, 643-7231
• VP for Administrative services, 643-7222
• Director of Physical Plant, 643-7415
• Counseling Office, 643-7398

Dial 9 first if calling from an on-campus telephone. Pay phones and telephone call boxes are located throughout campus.

For your safety and the safety of others

• Never prop open a security door. Remove any props you see.
• Lock your room door, your vehicle and your bike.
• Always carry your keys and ID card. Never loan them out.
• Let Operation ID work for you! See SLO for information.
• Be wise— not victimized by theft: Never leave your personal property unattended in public areas.
• Mark your ID in books and personal items. Do not keep cash in your room.
• Walk with a friend, especially at night.
• Report crimes or suspicious behavior to campus security, police and residence hall staff.

Please, look out for your own and each other’s well-being!