Story by Alicia Steele, Assistant News Editor and Isabella Utley, Contributing writer

On Friday, Aug. 26, Public Safety and Emergency Management arrested Deyonte Warren for 4th degree assault in a domestic violence related incident at Elizabeth Residential College. Students were not notified of the incident via an Emergency Notification or a Timely Warning.

“An assault like this is neither immediate, serious nor ongoing because the suspect was immediately arrested,” said James Herring, chief of police at Public Safety.

Herring said it is important to understand the difference between an Emergency Notification and a Timely Warning.

EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION

According to The Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting 2016 Edition, an Emergency Notification requires every institution, under the Clery Act, “to immediately notify the campus community upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation occurring on campus that involves an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees.”

Herring said a tornado or an armed robbery on campus in which the suspect has not been apprehended are examples of an immediate threat.

He said students would receive an Emergency Notification via text message, social media, email, etc.

TIMELY WARNING

“A Timely Warning is sent for a serious or ongoing threat to the campus,” Herring said. “A rash of crimes in which the suspect has not been apprehended or a serious incident in which the threat is not immediate, like a rape that occurred the previous day, would result in a Timely Warning notice.”

According to The Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting 2016 Edition, a Timely Warning would be necessary if a rash of dormitory burglaries, motor vehicle thefts or a number of incidents involving date rape drugs were to occur.

“For students who just want to ‘know what happened,’ the campus crime log is available online,” Herring said. “And those students can refer to that for information about the nature of the crime.”

Piper Cassetto, freshman from Louisville, Kentucky, said she didn’t know an arrest was made, so she thinks students should have been notified of the incident.

“I did not know we had a campus crime log,” Cassetto said.

Brody Allen, sophomore from Robinson, Illinois, said he didn’t know an arrest was made, but he wasn’t concerned.

“I honestly don’t care,” Allen said.

However, Allen said students should be notified when an event like this occurs.

Allen was also unaware Murray State has a campus crime log available.