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Timely Warning Policy

In the event that a situation arises either on or off campus, which in the judgment of the CCRI Police in consultation with the Director of Administration, constitutes a serious or continuing threat to students and employees, a campus-wide “alert” or “timely warning” will be issued through the college email system to students, faculty, and staff. Depending on the particular circumstances of the crime or event, and all situations that could pose an immediate threat to the campus community, the College may use its emergency alert system* which provides the college community with more immediate notification. Examples of an emergency notification requirement would be an immediate threat to the health and safety of the community such as a building fire, earthquake, gas leak, or and armed intruder. Anyone with information warranting an emergency notification or timely warning should report the circumstances to the CCRI Police immediately:

  • Warwick: 401-825-2109
  • Lincoln: 401-333-7035
  • Providence: 401-455-6050
  • Newport: 401-851-1620

The College has multiple systems for notifying the community in the event of emergencies. The College contracts with Rave Alert* for emergency notification services. This allows authorized users to send an immediate notification to all or selected members of the CCRI community who have provided emergency notification contact information. Messages about immediate or potential threats to the community can be sent via text, home phones, and multiple e-mail addresses. All members of the College community are requested regularly to provide updated emergency contact information so that they can receive messages from the emergency notification system.

The emergency notification system will be activated upon confirmation of an emergency situation that poses an immediate threat to the health or safety of students, faculty, and staff on campus, or when there is an event that requires closing the campus or limiting access (e.g., severe weather). Major incidents of arson, criminal homicide, and robbery are typical crimes requiring an alert. Cases of aggravated assault and sex offenses are considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the facts of the case and the information known by Public Safety, as well as when and where the incident occurred, when it was reported, and the amount of information known by Public Safety. For example, if an assault occurs between two students who have a disagreement, there may be no ongoing threat to other College community members, and an alert would not be distributed. Cases involving sexual assaults are often reported long after the incident occurred, thus there is no ability to distribute a “timely” warning notice to the community. The emergency notification system will NOT be used to send messages about criminal activity in the area unless the crime presents an immediate threat to safety on campus. The confirmation of an emergency or dangerous situation and the decision to issue an emergency notification system message is typically made by the Chief of Police/Director of Safety and Security and/or the Director of Administration. The Director may also confer with local first responders and/or the National Weather Service when confirming an emergency.

Executive leadership of the College are included in the decision to send a message if time permits. Depending on the type of emergency, Campus Police and/or members of the administration will confirm the emergency with the assistance of local/state first responders and/or the National Weather Service and will determine the appropriate segment(s) of the campus community to receive the notification. Campus Police can contact State/local police via radio and telephone directly. A decision will then be made by the Chief/Director and/or the Director of Administration as to the content of the notification and the notification will be initiated. For example, a threat to the Warwick Campus would not necessarily impact the Lincoln Campus and such a threat would likely only result in a warning to the Warwick (Knight) Campus community. Similarly, a gas leak at the Newport Campus would likely only result in notification of evacuation to the Newport Campus community.

The College will, without delay, and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the emergency message and initiate the emergency messaging system, unless issuing a message will, in the judgment of the Police Department or other responsible authorities, jeopardize or compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency situation. Campus Police and administration maintain a set of pre-recorded messages in the emergency notification system to support rapid communication in the event of an immediate threat to the campus community. As an event unfolds, the College may update the community via more detailed emails and/or through its website or other social media. The larger community surrounding the affected campus(es) may be updated by marketing through the website, various social media and/or media liaison.

CCRI students, faculty, and staff are automatically enrolled in our Rave Emergency Alert system if a phone number was supplied during enrollment/to MyCCRI Portal. Visit this page to find information on how to update your phone numbers.