The Clery Act is a federal law that requires UWM to disclose information about crime and safety on our campus, and it has specific requirements intended to keep our UWM community informed about threats to safety and health in a way that allows the community to make informed decisions about their safety. The Clery Act requires two types of campus alerts – timely warnings and emergency notifications.
Timely Warnings
Timely warnings are announcements made to the campus community about Clery-reportable crimes that occur within UWM’s Clery geography when the crime poses a serious or continuing threat to students and employees. Clery-reportable crimes include:
- Murder or non-negligent manslaughter
- Sex offenses
- Robbery
- Aggravated assault
- Arson
- Burglary
- Motor vehicle theft
- Domestic and dating violence
- Stalking
- Hate crimes
The decision to issue a timely warning will be decided by the UW- Milwaukee Police Department on a case-by-case basis as soon as pertinent information is available and in light of all the facts surrounding the reported crime. The following factors will be considered when determining whether to issue a timely warning:
- Where the crime occurred (i.e. within UWM Clery geography)
- When the crime occurred (recent versus delayed report)
- The nature of the crime (serious/not serious, violent/nonviolent)
- The nature of the threat (general threat versus limited threat to a specific person)
- Whether or not there is a continuing threat to the community or continuing crime pattern
A timely warning message will typically contain the following, unless issuing any of this information would risk compromising law enforcement efforts:
- The date and time or timeframe of the incident
- General location
- A brief description of the incident
- Information that will promote safety and potentially aid in the prevention of similar crimes (crime prevention or safety tips)
- Suspect descriptions/photos when deemed appropriate and if there is sufficient detail
- Police agency contact information
The UW-Milwaukee Police Department will, on a case-by-case basis, issue timely warnings for crimes that extend beyond UWM’s immediate Clery geographical area. The same procedures for determining whether to issue a Clery geography timely warning are used for determining whether to issue a non-Clery geography timely warning.
Emergency Notifications
Emergency notifications are announcements to the campus community regarding a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees on campus. Examples of emergency notifications include:
- Gas leak
- Fire
- Tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service
- Armed intruder
- Bomb threat
- Civil unrest or rioting
- Chemical or hazardous waste incident
- Explosion
The decision to issue an emergency notification will be decided by the UW-Milwaukee Police Department on a case-by-case basis as soon as pertinent information is available and in light of all the facts surrounding the reported incident.