REDWOODS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
Board Policy
BP 3506
TIMELY WARNINGS
The President/Superintendent shall establish procedures for issuing a campus-wide “timely
warning” in the event that a situation arises, either on or off campus, that, in the judgment of the
Manager or Director of Public Safety or designee, constitutes an ongoing or continuing threat to
persons or property. The information shall be disseminated by the Manager or Director of Public
Safety or designee in a manner that aids the prevention of similar crimes.
Reference: 34 CFR § 668.46(e)
Approved: NEW
REDWOODS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
Administrative Procedure
AP 3506
TIMELY WARNINGS
In the event that a situation arises, either on or off campus, that, in the judgment of the Manager
or Director of Public Safety or designee, constitutes an ongoing or continuing threat to persons or
property, a campus wide “timely warning” will be issued. The warning will be issued through
the college e-mail system to students, faculty, and staff. The warming will also be issued
through RAVE Alert, a text-message system, to participants in the District’s RAVE Alert
program. Warnings may be posted on the District website or through information provided to
local media as appropriate.
Depending on the circumstances, especially in all situations that could pose an immediate threat
to the community and individuals, the Manager or Director of Public Safety or designee may also
post a notice on the campus-wide electronic bulletin board and/or on the College of the
Redwoods website at www.redwoods.edu, providing the college community with more
immediate notification. In such instances, a copy of the notice shall be posted at each affected
residence hall, administration building, and campus. The Public Safety Department may also
issue information concerning an ongoing or continuing threat over loud-speakers, in-person
notice to classrooms or offices, by message sent to campus phones, or other means. Anyone
with information warranting a timely warning should report the circumstances to the Public
Safety Department, by phone at (707) 476-4111 or in person at the Public Safety Department
office at 7351 Tompkins Hill Road, Eureka. The District shall not be required to provide a
timely warning with respect to crimes reported to a professional counselor as defined below. In
any timely warning, the District shall withhold the names of victims as confidential.
If there is an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on
campus, the District shall follow its emergency notification procedures. The District is not
required to issue a timely warning based on the circumstances addressed through the emergency
notification procedures but may provide follow-up information through timely warnings as
needed.
The current procedure for issuing a timely warning is as follows:
A.
Decision to Issue a Timely Warning:
1.
A warning must be issued when both of the following conditions are met:
(1) arson, aggravated assault, criminal homicide, robbery, sex offenses,
domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, illegal weapons possession,
burglary, motor vehicle theft, or any crime determined to be a hate crime
is reported to Public Safety or other campus safety authorities, and (2) the
crime is considered by the College to represent a continuing threat to
students or employees.
2.
A warning may be issued regarding other crimes as deemed necessary by
the Manager or Director of Public Safety or designee.
3.
The Manager or Director of Public Safety, or designee, is responsible for
deciding whether a timely warning will be issued.
B.
Determining Whether a Continuing Threat Exists:
1.
Whether a reported crime constitutes a continuing threat must be decided
on a case-by-case basis in light of all the facts surrounding a crime,
including factors such as the nature of the crime, the continuing danger to
the campus community and the possible risk of compromising law
enforcement efforts.
2.
Examples of crimes that could constitute a continuing threat include but
are not limited to:
• a serial crime that targets certain campus populations such as sex
crimes or race-based crimes in which the perpetrator has not been
apprehended
• a crime in which there is no apparent connection between perpetrator
and victim and the perpetrator has not been apprehended
3.
Crimes that likely would not constitute a continuing threat include but are
not limited to:
• crimes in which the perpetrator has been apprehended, thereby
neutralizing the threat
• crimes in which an identified perpetrator targets specific known
individuals to the exclusion of others
C.
Content of the Warning Notice:
1.
The warning must contain sufficient information about the nature of the
threat to allow members of the college community to take action to protect
themselves, such as:
• a concise statement of the incident
• possible connection to previous incidents, if applicable
• physical description of the suspect
• composite drawing of the suspect, if available
• date and time the warning was released
• other relevant and important information
2.
In some cases, Public Safety may need to keep some facts confidential to
avoid compromising an investigation.
3.
The names of victims are confidential and will not be included in any
timely warning.
4.
Public Safety will minimize the risk of releasing other potentially
personally identifying information
D.
Timing of the Warning:
1.
In a situation representing an immediate and serious threat, a warning may
be issued immediately with few facts and then be continually updated until
the threat is contained or neutralized. In such circumstances, the District
shall follow its emergency notification procedures.
2.
E.
If a threat is less immediate, the warning will be issued as soon as the
pertinent information is available.
Method of Distribution:
1.
The warning must be distributed in a manner reasonably likely to reach the
entire campus community.
2.
Depending on the circumstances, any of the following methods, or
combination thereof, may be used:
• posting of notices on the campus-wide electronic bulletin board
• campus-wide emails
• text messages using RAVE Alert system
• postings to the College of the Redwoods website at
www.redwoods.edu
• press releases
• announcements over loud-speakers or in-person to classrooms or
offices
• voice messages over various public address systems (VoIP)
• other means as appropriate
Reference: 34 CFR § 668.46(e)
Approved: NEW