The Threat Assessment Team is chaired by the Director of Campus Safety and includes the Vice President for Enrollment and Student Experience, Associate Vice President for Human Resources, Director of Campus Life, a representative from the Counseling Services Department, the Investigator from Campus Safety, and two faculty members appointed by the Faculty Executive Committee for a three year term.  The Threat Assessment Team will be convened whenever any member of the Team feels there are serious safety issues concerning an incident, on or off campus, involving members of the campus community.  For more information, refer to the Undergraduate Student Handbook.

The report of a missing person is a serious matter.  If you have reason to believe that a person is missing from Nazareth College, immediately notify Campus Safety, Residential Life or your departmental supervisors/chairs who must report the concern to Campus Safety as soon as possible.

Upon notification to Nazareth College Campus Safety that a person/student is missing from campus, the Director of Campus Safety or designee will be notified.  In addition if the report is regarding a resident student the Director of Campus Life (or designee) and the Vice President of Enrollment and Student Experience will be contacted.

All calls regarding missing person(s) on campus will be dispatched and assigned to an officer for initial investigation.  Appropriate follow up/response by the Campus Safety Investigator (and if not available) the Director and/or Associate Director of Campus Safety will be initiated.

Resident Student Notification

Each student living in an on-campus student housing facility has the option to register a confidential contact person to be notified in the case that the student is determined to be missing, and only authorized campus officials and law enforcement officers in furtherance of a missing person investigation may have access to this information.  If the resident student has not registered a contact person, the local law enforcement will be notified that the student is missing.  The parents of students less than 18 years of age and not emancipated, will be contacted if the student is the subject of a missing person report.  Resident students wishing to provide a specific contact person can do so by e-mailing the information to emergencycontact@naz.edu.

Response

When Nazareth College Campus Safety is contacted regarding a missing person report involving a student, member of the college community, or a visitor to campus and an initial investigation determined the person may be missing:

• Campus Safety will report all such incidents to law enforcement after 24 hours; however this does not preclude contacting law enforcement in less than 24 hours if circumstances warrant a more immediate implementation.
• Campus Safety will utilize all resources available on campus to provide assistance to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in the investigation of a missing person report.  Among the resources that may be utilized or provided to law enforcement are:  video surveillance/camera records, photographs of the missing person, medical/dental records if available on campus, assistance in locating possible witnesses on-campus, physical evidence, on-campus school and work schedules, parking records, card key system usage, media relations, establishment of a command post and/or search parties on-campus.

In addition to responding to calls for persons believed to be missing for more than 24 hours, local law enforcement will assist Nazareth College in the investigation when:

• The missing person is less than 18 years old and is missing from his or her normal and ordinary place of residence and whose whereabouts cannot be determined by a person responsible for the child's care.
• The missing person is elderly and incapable of his or her own care.
• The missing person, regardless of age, has a serious physical or mental health condition requiring frequent medication or treatment.
• The missing person has a history of attempted suicide or has recently expressed suicidal thoughts.
• The missing person may be the victim of a crime or accident.
• The missing person is missing under circumstances inconsistent with the person's normal behavior.

If the person is missing from a location off-campus, contact the local or State law enforcement agency in the area where the person is believed to be missing.  If the person is also a member of the Nazareth College community appropriate assistance will be provided to law enforcement.

Designated Contact Person

Resident students wishing to provide a specific contact person can do so by e-mailing the information to emergencycontact@naz.edu.

Bias-related crimes on college campuses have been of increasing concern to campus administrators and law enforcement officials alike. Bias-related crime is a very serious matter, and a direct violation of Nazareth College Statement on Respect and Diversity, i.e. "respect for the dignity of all people is an essential part of the college's tradition and mission, and its vision of the future." New York state and federal laws have recently further defined bias crimes and significantly increased the punishments to those that perpetrate these crimes.

New York State's Hate Crimes Act of 2000 (Penal Law, Section 485) has increased the criminal penalties for most significant crimes; including criminal mischief, criminal trespass, harassment, stalking, assault, arson, robbery, burglary, stalking, rape, criminal sexual assault, and others, if the crime was also classified as a "hate crime." A "hate crime" occurs where the victim was selected on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, old age, disability, or sexual orientation. For example, the maximum sentence for a first conviction of a non-violent felony increases from 3 to 6 years, if the victim was selected based on his/her sexual orientation.

New York state laws also define specific crimes with respect to bias. In particular, under the New York Civil Rights Law (Section 40-c) a person or entity that commits the crime of ordinary harassment is guilty of a class-A misdemeanor (punishable by up to one year in jail), if the victim was harassed because of his or her race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, or disability.

Similarly, the crimes of aggravated harassment in the first and second degrees (NYS Penal Law Section 240) are committed when the harassment occurred because of a belief or perception about the victim's race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation. First-degree aggravated harassment is a felony, punishable with imprisonment for a year, even for a first offense.

The Federal Sentencing Guidelines (18 USC Appendix 3A1.1), applicable to those who commit federal crimes, also provide for significantly increased prison terms for crimes if they are perpetrated on people, or their property because of the victim's race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation.

United States Congress has also defined special hate-based crimes in the Federal criminal code (18 USC Sections 245, 247). It is a federal offense to use force, or the threat of force to willfully injure, intimidate or interfere with someone (or a class of people) from exercising or enjoying certain federal rights, such as voting, running for office, or applying for a federal job. Those rights include enjoying the benefits of any program or activity receiving Federal assistance, of which Nazareth College is a recipient.

It is also a federal offense to intimidate someone from participating, without discrimination on account of race, color, religion or national origin, in any of those federally protected rights or benefits. Federal law also makes it a crime to deface, damage, or destroy religious places because of their religious character or because of the race, color, or ethnic characteristics of anyone associated with that property. These hate-based federal crimes can all result in fines and up to a year of imprisonment, and if dangerous weapons, injuries, sexual abuse, kidnapping, death or other violent elements are involved, prison sentences can be much longer, and punishment can even include the federal death penalty.

Reporting Bias Related Crime

• Students should contact the Department of Campus Safety (585-389-2850) or the vice president of Enrollment and Student Experience (585-389-2880).
• Staff members should contact the Department of Campus Safety (585-389-2850) or the Human Resources Office (585-389-2065).
• Faculty members should contact the Department of Campus Safety (585-389-2850) or the vice president of Academic Affairs (585-389-2011).

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, contact Campus Safety, 585-389-3333.

Also see Bias Incidents, below.

Bias incidents that don't rise to the level of a crime can be reported to Nazareth's Bias Response & Education Team (NBRET): 

Bias Reporting at Nazareth College >

Faculty, staff, and students who want further information or assistance in discussing or filing a complaint of harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, marital or veteran status, disability, carrier status, genetic predisposition, or any other protected status should contact any of the Human Relations Advisors. These advisors will assist in trying to resolve the problem informally and/or explain the steps of the formal grievance procedure. You may also contact the Director of Human Resources for assistance.  The Student Handbook and HR Department sites provide more information regarding this policy and contact information.