TIMELY WARNINGS, EMERGANCY NOTIFICATION, AND PUBLIC SAFETY ADVSIORY

MSU uses three types of notification processes to warn the campus community in the event of an emergency or public safety risk. The three types of notifications are Emergency Notificaitons, Timely Warnings, and Public Safety Advisories. MSU has Timely Warning, Emergency Notification, and Public Safety procedures. MSU will issue may issue Timely Warnings, Emergency Notifications, and/ or Public Safety Advisories to the campus community on an as needed and required by Clery basis.

Timeley warnings are issued in the event a violent crime that represents a serious or continuing threat to the campus community has occurred. Emergency Notifications are issued during emergencies or critical incidents that pose an immediate threat to the health and safety of the campus community. A Public Safety Advisory is issed to reduce the risk of being victimized by telephone/email scams, fraud, etc.

Consistent with the requirements of the Clery Act, MSU will “immediately notify the campus community upon the confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or staff occurring on the campus, unless issuing a notification will compromise efforts to contain the emergency.”

TIMELY WARNINGS NOTIFICATION

In the event a crime is reported or brought to the attention of a CSA that occurred, within the MSU Clery Geography (On Campus, Public Property and Noncampus property), that, in the judgment of the Chief of Police and in consultation with other campus administrators (including but not limited to: Dean of Students, Legal Counsel, Director of the Office of Institutional Equity & Title IX Coordinator, and the Emergency Management Coordinator) when time permits, constitutes a serious or continuing threat, a campus wide “timely warning” notice will be issued.

Timely warnings will be distributed to the entire campus community as soon as pertinent information is available, in a manner that withholds the names of victims as confidential, and with the goal of aiding in the prevention of similar occurrences. Timely Warnings are typically issued for the following Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR)/National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) crime classifications: murder/non-negligent manslaughter, sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, major incidents of arson, motor vehicle theft, and hate crimes. 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 UPD and after consultation with the Gallatin County Attorney. Timely Warning Notices may be distributed for other Clery crimes—as determined by the Chief of Police or their designee.

The University Police Chief or designee reviews all timely warning notifications. Timely warnings will typically include information such as a brief statement of the incident, physical description of any suspect(s), appropriate safety tips, and other relevant, available information. Timely Warning Notices are typically written by the Chief of Police or designee and are sent to the University Communications News Director (or designee) for review and distribution by that office. The University Police Chief notifies the Gallatin County Attorney of the intent to distribute a timely

warning notice to ensure the information released does not compromise law enforcement efforts as permitted by the Clery Act and as outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding with that office.

Timely warnings will be distributed using the email list servs and the MSU Bozeman Facebook page as primary methods of communication. , If warranted, MSU may also communicate a timely warning via paper postings in buildings.

The institution is not required to issue a Timely Warning with respect to crimes reported to a pastoral or professional counselor.

EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION

MSU Alert is a Wireless Emergency Notification System (WENS) powered by EverBridge. The system is used to transmit brief, urgent messages to a large segment of the MSU population as quickly as possible. Face to face communication may also be used to communicate emergency information. MSU will immediately notify the campus community upon the confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or staff occurring on campus.

If the MSUPD Shift Commander, or designee, in conjunction with other University administrators, local first responders, Public Health Officials and/or the National Weather Service, confirms that there is an emergency or dangerous situation that poses an immediate threat to the health or safety of some or all members of the MSU Community. The MSUPD Dispatcher, in conjunction with the Shift Commander, the UPD Administrator on call, Emergency Management Coordinator, and/or the Chief of Police when time permits, will determine the content of the messages.

The Dispatcher, Emergency Management Coordinator, UPD Command Staff members and/or University Communications News Director are trained and authorized to distribute the messages via the EverBridge See specifics below for who develops content and distributes the messages for the other systems. MSU will use some or all of the systems described below to communicate the threat to the MSU Community or to the appropriate segment of the community, if the threat is limited to a particular building or segment of the population.

MSU will, without delay, and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system, unless issuing a notification will, in the professional judgment of responsible authorities, compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.

PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY

Public Safety Advisories are used to notify students, faculty, and staff of situations that do not pose an immediate threat to life safety, buy may require awareness to reduce the risk of being victimized by telephone/email scams, fraud, etc. These notifications are sent via email.

*May be used in buildings where this capability exists

The types of incidents that may cause an immediate threat to the community could include, but are not limited to, emergencies such as: an active shooter on campus, hostage/barricade situation, a riot, a suspicious package with confirmation of a device, a tornado, a fire/explosion, suspicious

death, structural damage to a University owned or controlled facility, biological threat (anthrax, etc.), significant flooding, a gas leak, hazardous materials spill, etc.

All students, faculty, and staff members directly affiliated with the University are automatically enrolled in the MSU Alert system. The University strongly encourages parents, guardians, friends, family, the local community and guests to “Opt-In” to the system by texting “MontanaState” to 888- 777. For more information, go to the MSU Alert website. Students, faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the intent and purpose of the MSU Alert system.

Follow-up information will be distributed using some or all of the identified communication systems (except fire alarm) and would be developed by the Incident Response Group (IRG) and would be assigned to the appropriate staff members to distribute via the systems above.

The local news media may be utilized to disseminate emergency information to members of the larger community, including neighbors, parents and other interested parties. The larger community can also access emergency information via the Montana State University homepage and/or social media. Parents can also opt into the MSU Everbridge System.

If there is an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on campus, MSU will follow its emergency notification procedures. Per Clery requirements, an institution that follows its emergency notification procedures is not required to issue a timely warning based on the same circumstances; however, MSU will provide adequate follow-up information to the community as needed.

Anyone with information about a situation that may require the issuance of a timely warning or emergency notification should report the circumstances to the MSU Police Department, by calling 911 or 994- 2121, or in person at the University Police Department, located in the Roy E. Huffman building at South 7th and Kagy Boulevard.