CWUR 7-80

Campus Safety and Parking

• 7-80-010 Parking Procedures
• 7-80-015 Use of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
• 7-80-020 Security and Safety on Campus Procedure
• 7-80-030 Abandoned Property

CWUR 7-80-020 Security and Safety on Campus Procedures

This procedure is provided pursuant to CWU Policy 2-40-240

(1) Purpose

Central Washington University strives to provide a safe and secure campus environment to students, faculty, staff, and visitors. CWU wants our community to be informed of safety and security related issues and resources that are available. Certain individuals and/or departments have duties related to security and safety on campus.

(2) Authority and Responsibilities

CWU complies with the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act, commonly referred to as the Jeanne Clery Act (Clery Act) which is contained in Section 485 of the Higher Education Act. This Act requires certain institutions of higher education, including Central Washington University, to have procedures and take specific measures relative to campus security, safety and crime reporting.

The president has explicit authority in all issues and incidents related to campus safety and security. As such, the president may, as deemed necessary, take immediate action or appoint a designee to ensure the safety and security of the campus and community, and to implement the CWU Emergency Operations Plan (CWU EOP). These actions include, but are not limited to:

• ordering any disciplinary action,
• restricting access to university facilities or personnel,
• ordering the issuance of a notice against trespass,
• closing university facilities, and/or
• taking other action as permitted by law.

(a) Admissions - Admissions will provide all prospective students information on the CWU Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.

(b) University Police and Parking Services (UPPS) - UPPS is authorized by RCW with complete police authority, including arrest powers. The police chief/director of UPPS is responsible for keeping the president apprised of emergent situations or matters. UPPS is responsible for:

• all police service and criminal investigations and reports on the Ellensburg campus
• tracking and compiling crime statistics and disclosure as required by law
• preparing a daily crime log and daily fire log and making logs available to the public
• taking anonymous reports from those not wishing to provide their identity
• coordinating with Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue to ensure that fires, arsons and fire related activity and statistics are documented and reported
• providing, receiving and working cooperatively through mutual aid and assistance with other neighboring law enforcement agencies including; the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office, Ellensburg Police Department, Washington State Patrol, Kittitas Police Department and the Cle Elum, Roslyn and South Cle Elum Police Department
• meeting formally and informally on a regular basis with other law enforcement and criminal justice agencies in order to share information and resources
• sharing radio networks and record management networks with the Ellensburg Police Department, Kittitas County Sheriff and other entities
• sharing and working cooperatively with student conduct officers and staff within the Student Success Division by sharing  information about students involved in violations of law and/or student conduct policies
• providing security and crime awareness programs and information to students, faculty and staff of CWU, and
• ensuring that Clery reportable offenses and referrals given to student conduct are appropriately tracked and documented for Clery statistical purposes.

(c) Health and Counseling – When notified by a student/patient that they have been a victim of a crime, health and counseling personnel will inform the student of the procedures to report crimes on a voluntary, confidential basis for inclusion in the annual disclosure of crime statistics.

(d) Housing - Housing will have a procedure which allows residential students an opportunity to identify an emergency contact. Residential students will also be made aware of CWU missing student procedures and offer residential students the ability to identify a person to contact if they are deemed as missing.

(e) Human Resources - Human resources will provide prospective employees information on where to obtain the annual security and fire safety report. HR will also identify campus security authorities (CSA) and updating selected job descriptions to reflect that they are a CSA.

 (f) Public Affairs - Public affairs will review and assist the Clery Compliance Officer in drafting and disseminating the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. Public affairs will work closely with university police when the emergency notification system CWU Alert! and Desktop Alert! require activation. Public affairs staff is trained on how to activate this system.

(g) Student Success – Student Success will track and document Clery reportable offenses and will provide that statistical information to the Clery Compliance Officer for accurate reporting.

(h) Wellness Center - When made aware of a crime, the Wellness Center will inform the student of the procedures to report crimes on a voluntary, confidential basis for inclusion in the annual disclosure of crime statistics.

(3)  Reporting Crimes, Emergencies, Fires or Other Concerns

(a) How to Report a Crime or other Emergencies - students, faculty, staff and visitors are encouraged to promptly report all crimes, fires and public safety related incidents to the University Police Department by calling 911. Kittcom, the consolidated 911 center for numerous public safety agencies in Kittitas County, is capable of dispatching CWU Police, Fire and Medical services to Central Washington University. To report non-emergency or public safety issues call Kittcom at 509-925-8534.

Blue light phones are placed across campus and can be utilized by pushing the “call button”. These phones are answered by Kittcom who can dispatch emergency responders.

University Police will look into all calls dispatched or received by them, and respond as appropriate. If the crime or incident occurred off campus, Kittcom and/or the university police will identify and coordinate with the agency that has jurisdiction over the incident. 

(b) How to Report Other Concerns - concerns or requests for repairs for lighting or structure and building maintenance should be reported to the facility maintenance division by calling 509-963-3000. Concerns such as student behavior not rising to the need of police involvement, can be reported to the dean of student success by calling 509-963-1515 or through the intranet by clicking on “Report Behaviors of Concern” and completing the form. Keep in mind this system is not monitored 24/7; in an emergency call 911.  Concerns regarding an employee should be reported to human resources by calling 509-963-1202.

(c) Notifying the CWU Community – The chief of police or designee will be responsible for issuing any emergency notification or timely warning. The public affairs department will assist with content and dissemination of the message to all or segments of the campus community depending on the situation.

The chief of police may opt not to send a notification if the notification would compromise efforts to assist the victim, contain or respond to the incident or otherwise mitigate the incident. The president will be advised in these instances.

A member of the public affairs department will be assigned as the “public information officer” (PIO) during an emergency. The PIO will be responsible for communicating with the president and providing follow up or updates to the campus and greater community as the incident progresses or is mitigated.

(d) Timely warnings - CWU Police Department may issue a Timely Warning if an event or situation arises, either on or off campus that, in the judgment of the chief of police, constitutes an ongoing or continuing threat to the campus. This warning may be done through email or intranet postings, and may be included on the University Police and/or CWU website.

(e) Emergency Notifications - CWU has an emergency notification system that is maintained by information technology services and operated by the university police and public affairs. This system has 3 basic components: CWU Alert sends email messages, text message and telephone calls to members of the campus community; Desktop Alert! sends a computer message to all CWU owned desktop computers that are “on” and connected to the network; and Alert Update, an email update notification system for those who subscribe by entering their email address.

In the event of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees, CWU Alert! will be activated through established procedures.  CWU Alert! will be tested at least once annually.

(4) Clery Act

Clery Act requirements are complex and require coordination across campus and at all levels. In order to gather and disseminate the required information and comply with this act, individuals and departments across campus work together. The president identifies the individual responsible for overall Clery Act compliance. This person will utilize other individuals or a committee in order to coordinate CWU’s compliance.

(a) Clery Compliance Officer - The police chief/director of UPPS is the Clery Compliance Officer and is responsible for: 

• Ensuring that the University maintains compliance with all requirements of the Clery Act.
• Collecting and recording crime statistics including those reported to CSA’s.
• Preparing and submitting required documentation to the Department of Education.
• Preparing and disseminating the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.
• Making the daily crime log and fire log available to the public.

(b) Annual Security and Fire Safety Report - The annual Security and fire safety report contains all required information specified in the “Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting.” This report is disseminated to all students, staff and faculty by October 1 of each year. The report is also available at the university police department.

A notice of the annual security and fire safety report’s availability, including a description of the report's contents, and the opportunity to request a copy of the report will be provided to all prospective students and employees upon request.

(c) Crime and Fire Log - University police maintains a daily log, written in a format that can be easily understood, to record crimes and fires as required under the Clery Act. If there is clear and convincing evidence that the release of that specific information may jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation or the safety of an individual, cause a suspect to flee or evade detection, or result in the destruction of evidence, the university police department may withhold log information This information shall be disclosed once the adverse effect is no longer likely to occur.

The crime log must include the following information:

• The incident number, nature, date and time the crime was reported, date and time the crime occurred, and general location of each crime; and
• The disposition of the complaint, if known.

The fire log must include the following information:

• The date the fire was reported, the nature of the fire, the date and time the fire occurred, and the general location of the fire; and
• The fire log will only contain information on fires occurring in on-campus residential facilities.

Crimes will be recorded in the daily crime log within two business days of the report of the crime. Dispositions will be updated as needed for the period of 90 days after the crime is reported to the university police. 

The daily crime log is available on the university police website. A hard copy of the daily crime log is available for view at the police department during normal business hours.  

(5) Missing Residential Students

If a member of the university community has reason to believe that a student who resides in on-campus housing is missing, he or she should immediately call 911. The university police will generate a missing person report and initiate an investigation.

If the investigation determines that the student is missing and has been missing for 24 hours, the university police will notify local law enforcement as required. University housing, upon notification by university police, will notify the emergency contact, if one has been provided.)

If the missing student is under the age of 18 and is not an emancipated individual, CWU will notify the student’s parent or legal guardian immediately after the university police has determined that the student has been missing for more than 24 hours. 

In addition to registering an emergency contact, students residing in on-campus housing have the option to identify an individual to be confidentially contacted by university personnel in the event they determined to be missing for more than 24 hours.  If a student has identified such an individual, CWU will notify that individual no later than 24 hours after the student is determined to be missing.  Students who wish to identify a confidential contact can do so through the university housing.   

(6) Sex Offender Registry

The Revised Code of Washington identifies the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) as the agency responsible to oversee, register and administer the sex offender program. By law, KCSO is required to notify CWU Police when a registered offender identifies as being enrolled at CWU. CWU Police have no obligation or authority to register or classify sex offenders. When notified by KCSO, university police will assess the information and determine who will receive the necessary information as allowed by law.

Sex offenders are categorized with the following levels:

Level I

The vast majority of registered sex offenders are classified as Level 1 offenders. They are considered at low risk to re-offend. These individuals may be first time offenders and they usually know their victims.

Level II

Level 2 offenders have a moderate risk of re-offending. They generally have more than one victim and the abuse may be long term. These offenders usually groom their victims and may use threats to commit their crimes. These crimes may be predatory with the offender using a position of trust to commit their crimes. Typically these individuals do not appreciate the damage they have done to their victims.

Level III

Level 3 offenders are considered to have a high risk to re-offend. They usually have one or more victims and may have committed prior crimes of violence. They may not know their victim(s).

Notifications – CWU Police will assess the level and determine distribution of relevant and necessary information as allowed by law.

The Washington State Legislature, in passing RCW 4.24.550, described its intent as follows:

"The legislature finds that sex offenders pose a high risk of engaging in sex offenses even after being released from incarceration or commitment and that protection of the public from sex offenders is a paramount governmental interest. The legislature further finds that the penal and mental health components of our justice system are largely hidden from public view and that lack of information from either may result in failure of both systems to meet the paramount concern of public safety. Overly restrictive confidentiality and liability laws governing the release of information about sexual predators have reduced willingness to release information that could be appropriately released under public disclosure laws, and have increased risks to public safety. Persons found to have committed a sex offense have a reduced expectation of privacy because of the public's interest in public safety and in the effective operation of government. Release of information about sexual predators to public agencies and, under limited circumstances, the general public, will further the governmental interests of public safety and public scrutiny of the criminal and mental health systems so long as the information released is rationally related to the furtherance of these goals. Therefore, this state's policy as expressed in RCW 4.24.550 is to require the exchange of relevant information about sexual predators among public agencies and officials and to authorize the release of necessary and relevant information about sexual predators to members of the general public."

General notification guidelines for the three levels may include:

Level I – Low Risk –

• Dean of Student Success.
• Director of Housing – if student resides on campus.
• Director of Human Resources – if person is an employee.
• University Police officers and all other CWU PD staff.

Level II – Intermediate Risk

• All LEVEL I notifications.
• President.
• Provost.
• Chief of Staff.
• Notice to affected university unit (such as department, instructors, library) with notice that this is for staff information only.

Level III – High Risk

• All LEVEL I and LEVEL II notifications.
• Community flyer distributed to departments via inter-office mail.
• Community flyer distributed to residential halls for posting.
• Posted on University Police website.
• Posters may be posted in public areas of campus.

Further information and identity of certain sex offenders can be obtained by contacting the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office or visiting their website.

[Responsibility: BFA (until 7/7/16) Operations Division; Authority: Cabinet/UPAC; Reviewed/Endorsed by: VPBFA Business and Finance 01/28/13; Cabinet: 04/25/2013; UPAC  Review/Effective Date: 05/01/2013; Approved by: James L. Gaudino, President]

CWUR 7-80-030 Abandoned Property

As the campus has grown, the number of bicycles and other items of personal property have increased – both those being used for transportation and those discarded when their owners leave CWU. Not only does abandoned property represent an eyesore, but they take up valuable bicycle parking spaces, may present tripping hazards, and most importantly tempt illegal activities.  Students, staff and faculty who no longer want their bicycles are encouraged to remove them from campus property.

The CWU Police Department, Facilities Management Department Transportation Services and University Housing Maintenance Services are authorized to impound abandoned property according to the following procedures.

(1) Removal or Impounding of Bicycles.

(A) The CWU Police Department and FMD Transportation Services are authorized to move, relocate, immobilize or impound any bicycle which appears to be abandoned as evidenced by signs of disuse or neglect. 

1. Effort shall be made through the University Police and Parking Services or other University departments to identify the owner of the abandoned property.

a. If possible CWU Police will attempt to identify the owners of possibly abandoned bicycles through the bicycle registration records. If the owner's e-mail address can be found and is still valid, a message is sent to notify that person that the bicycle is subject to impound, just as the paper warning notices do. When a bicycle is impounded, procedures are followed to determine if the bicycle has been reported stolen.

2. Warning notices are affixed to the bicycles in advance of their impoundment.

a. Such warning notice will be readily visible, identifiable and in place for seven (7) calendar days before any attempt to remove the property will be initiated.

3. Removal of Property

a. Should the bicycle remain in place after the expiration of the seven (7) calendar day period, the University will cut any locks and remove the bicycle to an impound facility for storage.

b. The university shall not be responsible for replacing locks damaged or destroyed in this operation.

4. Abandoned bicycles will go to an impound yard for 60 days.  During this time, the property owner may identify and reclaim their property without charge. After the waiting period expires, the bicycles will go to public auction through CWU Surplus Property Sales.

(2) Removal or Impounding of Personal Property.

(A) The CWU Police Department, FMD Transportation Services and University Housing Maintenance services are authorized to move, relocate or impound any personal property such as furniture and appliances which appears to be abandoned as evidenced by signs of disuse or neglect. 

1. Effort shall be made through the University Police and Parking Services or other University departments to identify the owner of the abandoned property.

a. If possible CWU will attempt to identify the owners of possibly abandoned property through housing occupancy or other records. If the owner's e-mail address can be found and is still valid, a message is sent to notify that person that the property is subject to impound, just as the paper warning notices do. When property is impounded, procedures are followed.

2. Warning notices are affixed to the property in advance of its impoundment.

a. Such warning notice will be readily visible, identifiable and in place for 48 hours before any attempt to remove the property will be initiated.

3. Property creating hazardous or unsafe condition.

a. Nothing in this procedure shall restrict the university from impounding or removing property without affixing the warning notice if the abandoned property creates an unsafe or hazardous condition.

4. Removal of Property

a. Should the property remain in place after the expiration of the 48 hour period, the university will remove the property to an impound facility for storage.

b. The university shall not be responsible for replacing property damaged or destroyed in this operation.

5. Abandoned property will go to an impound yard for 60 days. During this time, the property owner may identify and reclaim their property without charge. After the waiting period expires, the property will go through acceptable material disposal processes or to public auction through CWU Surplus Property Sales as warranted.

[Responsibility: Operations Division; Authority: Cabinet/UPAC; Reviewed/Endorsed by: Cabinet/UPAC; Review/Effective Date 10/04/17; Approved by: James L. Gaudino, President]