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SAFE U Advisory/ Timely Warning Notification

The Clery Act requires timely warning notification to the campus community when a reported Clery crime, occurring on University of Minnesota Clery geography, is determined to pose a serious or ongoing threat to public safety. The University issues Safe-U Advisory Notifications to comply with this requirement.

Notification Process

When a Clery crime is reported to the University of Minnesota Police Department, the UMPD on duty supervisor will notify the UMPD on call administrator. The UMPD on-call administrator will evaluate the facts of each crime on a case-by-case basis to determine if a SAFE U Advisory Notification is warranted. 

When the UMPD on-call administrator determines that a reported crime poses a serious or continuing threat and a SAFE U Advisory Notification is warranted, the on call administrator will compose the notification and forward the message to the Public Safety Emergency Communications Center (PSECC) for distribution.

Content of Notification

The primary objective of SAFE U advisory notifications is to provide the campus community with timely information about the occurrence of a crime to enable the campus community to make informed decisions about how to protect themselves from similar crimes. 

SAFE U Advisory Notifications will typically include the following information:

  • Date and time of the incident
  • Location
  • Crime type
  • Physical description of suspect (if available)
  • A link to the Public Safety Notifications website

SAFE U advisory notifications are not intended as a method for identifying and apprehending criminal suspects. Information contained in SAFE U advisory notifications is distributed to the community as soon as pertinent information is available, therefore suspect descriptions may not be available, may be incomplete or may change as the investigation continues and new information becomes available. Limited physical descriptions of the suspect may be part of the alert, but will not contain the racial identifiers.

UMPD Investigations my add  further detailed suspect information to the Public Safety Notifications website page when necessary to further the investigation or preserve public safety.  Any relevant updates, additional details and crime prevention tips will be published on the Public Safety Notifications page. Off-campus notifications contain limited information and UMN DPS will commonly refer questions to the corresponding law enforcement agency.

Protection of Personally Identifying Information

Personally Identifying Information of victims and reporting parties will not be disclosed in a SAFE U Advisory Notification. Except in instances where the information is relevant to the crime– for example, in crimes which are motivated by Bias the victim’s inclusion in a protected class may be released if this information is not determined to be explicitly personally identifiable.

Methods of Distribution

SAFE U Advisory Notifications will be electronically distributed to all Twin Cities Campus students, staff and faculty via University of Minnesota email. 

If a reported crime constitutes a significant emergency or dangerous situation occurring on campus that involves an immediate threat to the health or safety, UMPD will follow procedures for issuing a SAFE U Emergency Notification, more information about SAFE U Emergency Notifications can be found under the SAFE U Emergency Notification section. SAFE U Emergency Notifications may be distributed via phone call, text message, and email (depending on user preferences). 

Crimes Occurring Outside of University of Minnesota Clery Geography

The University may issue SAFE U Advisory Notifications for crimes occurring outside of the University's Clery Geography on a case by case basis when notified of a serious crime by off-campus law enforcement agencies. The following factors are considered:

  • Does the crime constitute a serious or ongoing threat to the campus community?
  • Did the reported crime involve a member of the campus community?
  • Did the crime occur within close proximity to the University's Clery Geography (within a few blocks)?
  • Does the crime appear to be continuation of a known pattern or crime trend?

In most cases, a SAFE U Advisory will not be sent for crimes occurring outside of the University's Clery Geography. 

Neighborhood residents and visitors are encouraged to contact and familiarize themselves with their local public safety organizations. For more information on how to subscribe to crime alerts for the appropriate local law enforcement agency see the links below:

Minneapolis Police Crime Alerts

St. Paul Police Emergency Notification