In the past week, the Case Western Reserve University Police Department has had to issue the first security alerts of the new academic year through the campus mass e-mail system. Usually, when this happens, our department fields some questions, usually something along the lines of “What are these things, and why are they in my inbox?” So, here is a brief explanation.

Security alerts are sent out to provide timely warnings about criminal activities that have occurred on or near campus. Usually, they are sent out when we get a report of what cops call “crimes against persons,” like robbery or assault.

Incident and suspect descriptions are based on the information provided by the victim and investigating officers. We try and send alerts out as quickly as possible after we receive information about an incident.

We also urge crime victims to report incidents like robberies as soon as it is safe to do so. This allows us to advise the rest of the campus community swiftly, and it gives us a fighting chance to catch the suspects. Bad news does not improve with age. If you have been a crime victim, please report this as soon as possible.

We send out security alerts because we want the campus community to know what is going on around them, and because the Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1990 requires us to.

This act is also known as the Clery Act, which is named after a female student who was murdered in her dorm room at a Pennsylvania State University in 1986. The later investigation of this incident revealed many things about campus security that needed to be fixed.

One lesson that applies here at CWRU is that in the Clery case the attacker was able to get into the residence hall by going through doors that should have been locked. The door had been propped open to allow boyfriends, girlfriends, and the pizza guy access. If a door is locked or access controlled, there is a reason for it. Please do not prop them without permission.

CWRU Police Blotter 9/10/12 to 9/17/12

9/10 – Suspect arrested in the act of bike theft, Kelvin Smith Library

9/11 – Suspect arrested in the act of bike theft, Fribley Commons

9/14 – Multiple thefts from autos, Triangle garage

9/14 – Theft, wallet taken from locker, Veale Center

9/15 – Unattended athletic equipment taken, NRV stadium

9/16 – Robbery suspect from incident on 9/10/12 arrested.

We welcome feedback on this or other topics at policecolumn@case.edu.