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Campus Security Report
2007
updated Sept. 29, 2007
It is the philosophy of the University of
Texas Medical Branch at Galveston that we would much rather prevent crimes
than react to them. UTMB's crime prevention program is our primary vehicle
for accomplishing this goal. The program is based on the dual concepts of:
1) eliminating or minimizing criminal
opportunities, and
2) encouraging students and employees to be
responsible for their own security as well as the security of others.
Crime Prevention Program
The crime prevention program
currently in place at UTMB consists of the following services:
Escort Programs: The UTMB Police
Department provides escort service ("Safety Watch") for persons walking on
campus after dark.
Crime Prevention Presentations:
Crime prevention presentations are held for employees, commuter students,
students with disabilities, international students, student government,
faculty and staff organizations, specific campus departments, and
recognized student organizations. Crime prevention presentations are a
part of each weekly new-employee orientation program. Crime prevention
presentations are also included in each scheduled student orientation.
To promote residence hall security, these
presentations are held periodically at residence halls; at other on-campus
student residences, such as fraternity and sorority houses; and at
off-campus student organization facilities. Brochures and other printed
materials urging security awareness are distributed at all presentations.
Electronic Alarm Systems: A
sophisticated, computer-based, electronic monitoring system monitors a
comprehensive network of intrusion detection and duress alarm systems.
Architectural Design: Technical and
crime prevention specialists of the UTMB Police Department have
significant input into the design of the physical and electronic security
systems of all new and renovated campus facilities.
Security Surveys: Comprehensive
security surveys or audits are made for a number of campus facilities
throughout the year. Surveys of exterior lighting and of exterior doors
and grounds are conducted weekly by patrol officers and guards.
Operation Identification: Operation
Identification, the engraving of owner-recognized numbers on items of
value, is strongly promoted for university students and employees.
Crime Prevention Publicity: Crime
prevention materials are distributed, and articles promoting crime
prevention are published in the student newspaper/newsletters (Omni), in
the employee newspaper (Impact), and in local newspapers.
Visit the
UTMB Police Web Site for additional information.
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Access to Campus
Facilities
Most campus buildings and hospital
facilities are accessible to members of the campus community, as well as
to guests and visitors, during normal business hours (8 a.m.-5 p.m.,
Monday Friday). They are also available for limited, designated hours on
Saturday and Sunday when the university and UTMB Hospitals and Clinics are
in normal operation.
During the evening hours, limited access to
UTMB campus facilities is controlled by UTMB Police Department officers
and guards, who are stationed at the main building entrances; auxiliary
entrances are locked and secured. All students, employees, vendors,
contractors and volunteers are issued photo identification badges. Badges
or temporary color-coded passes are required for entrance into university
buildings after hours.
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Maintenance and Security
of Facilities
UTMB maintains a very strong
commitment to campus safety and security. Motor vehicle parking lots and
garages, pedestrian walkways, and building exteriors are well-lighted and
patrolled. Criminal opportunities are reduced with the regular UTMB police
vehicular patrol through and around campus, in conjunction with the foot
patrol covering both the exterior and interior of campus buildings.
Exterior doors on campus buildings, including dormitories, are locked and
secured each night, and are checked throughout the evening by the officers
and guards. Shrubbery, trees and other vegetation on campus are routinely
trimmed.
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Drug and Alcohol
Policies
UTMB is committed to the creation
of an institutional environment where students, residents, fellows,
faculty and other employees learn to cope with stress and anxiety without
the use of mood-altering substances.
The unlawful and/or unauthorized
possession, use or distribution of alcohol or illicit drugs is prohibited
on UTMB property. Applicable statutes are strictly enforced, and those who
engage in prohibited activity may face criminal prosecution. In addition,
UTMB students and employees are subject to disciplinary sanctions under
university procedures.
Maintaining a
Drug-Free Campus at UTMB is a publication that details specific
offenses and disciplines for students, residents, fellows, faculty and
employees. Rehabilitation/counseling services available on campus are
included in this publication, which may be found at the Internet.
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Reporting Crimes and
Emergencies
Members of the UTMB community are
asked to report all criminal, threatening or suspicious activity including
threats or instances of workplace violence, to the UTMB Police Department.
Police personnel are required to investigate and document all such
reported activity in a written report that is included in reported
categorized crime statistics. Detailed security procedures, including
those related to sexual assault, are found in the following sections of
the Institutional Handbook of Operating Procedures with the Internet
location of
http://www.utmb.edu/policy/ihop/search/ihoptoc.pdf; Threatening
Situations (8.2.1); Campus Security Report (8.2.2); Sexual Assault
Prevention (2.3.5); and Workplace Violence (8.1.4).
To report a crime or emergency on campus,
call the UTMB Police at 772-1111 (off campus) or extension 21111 (on
campus). This number is answered 24 hours a day by certified
telecommunications personnel who maintain two way radio communication with
UTMB Police Department officers and guards on duty. Emergency telephones
are strategically located across the campus, in elevators and in parking
garages. These telephones can also be used to request that the UTMB Police
Department provide an escort.
In addition to or in lieu of reporting
criminal offenses to the police, students may, for the purpose of annual
statistical disclosure and timely warning reports, report offenses to
campus officials in the Office of Campus Life, the Student Counseling
Center or Student Affairs officials in the following Schools:
- School of Allied Health Sciences
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
- School of Medicine
- School of Nursing
Likewise, employees may report such
offenses to the office of Employee Assistance.
To report noncriminal emergencies, refer to
the numbers listed elsewhere in this publication.
The UTMB Police Department maintains
contact with area police and emergency agencies through two-way radio
communication so that assistance and support from these departments can be
obtained immediately when needed. UTMB also coordinates responses to
crimes in adjoining jurisdictions when requested to do so.
Concerted efforts are made to keep the
campus community informed about campus crime and crime-related problems.
These efforts include publishing the information in annual reports,
student campus news letters/newspapers, special alerts and community
newspapers.
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POLICY STATEMENT -
Sexual Assault Prevention and Response
UTMB will not tolerate sexual
assault in any form, including acquaintance rape. Sexual assault refers to
rape as well as other forms of forcible or non-forcible activity. Sexual
assault occurs when one person threatens, or uses violence or coercion to
cause another person to participate in any type of forced sexual activity.
Sexual assault is a crime. A student charged with sexual assault can be
prosecuted under state criminal statutes and/or disciplined under the UTMB
Code of Student Conduct.
The UTMB Police Department offers a 12-hour
Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) class, which is also taught nationally and
in Canada and is endorsed by the International Association of Campus Law
Enforcement Administrators (I.A.C.L.E.A.). The RAD approach to personal
safety education embodies a practical blend of rape awareness, awareness
of other sex offenses, threat avoidance strategies and real-world assault
resistance tactics. The focus of the RAD course of instruction is on the
development of easily mastered personal safety skills, which can be safely
practiced within a comfortable learning environment, and the coupling of
those physical skills with a threat assessment process, which will
increase physical safety awareness. The overall goal is to reduce
victimization through informed decision-making and sensible action. The
classes are free of charge to all employees, students and faculty and
their family members.
- If a sex offense occurs, students are
advised to notify either on campus or local police immediately. Time is
important in order to preserve evidence since time is a critical factor
for collection and preservation of evidence helpful in prosecution,
which cannot be obtained later. It is also strongly recommended that
students seek medical treatment immediately. Campus authorities will
assist students in notifying the police if requested.
- The Student Affairs Office is available
at all times to assist students in notifying authorities and to provide
information regarding disciplinary action, counseling, medical services,
mental health or student services, both on campus and in the community.
- Students also have the right to ask for
assistance in changing academic and living situations after an alleged
sexual assault incident if such arrangements are reasonably available.
- If there is probable cause to believe
that UTMB’s regulation prohibiting sexual assault has been violated,
UTMB will pursue strong disciplinary action through its own channels.
Sanctions may include discipline up to and including termination of an
employee or dismissal of a student perpetrator. Procedures for on-campus
disciplinary action in cases of alleged sexual assault shall follow the
procedures related to the UTMB Student Conduct and Discipline Policy
(7.1.3). Those include, but are not limited to, notice, hearing
procedures, challenges and appeals. Additionally, both accuser and
accused are entitled to the same opportunities to have others present
during a campus disciplinary proceeding and; both the accuser and the
accused shall be informed of the outcome of any campus disciplinary
proceedings alleging sexual assault.
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Sex
Offender Registration Information
The Federal Campus Sex Crimes
Prevention Act requires institutions of higher education to advise the
campus community where law enforcement agency information provided by a
State concerning registered sex offenders may be obtained.
In the State of Texas,
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is the statewide source of
information on sex offenders required by law to register. The DPS Sex
Offender Registration open record information may be obtained at the
Internet location
https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/dps_web/Portal/index.aspx
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The UTMB Police
Department
The UTMB Police Department employs
over 40 commissioned police officers and over 30 noncommissioned guards, along with
support and administrative personnel. Officers are commissioned by the
University of Texas System Board of Regents and licensed by the Texas
Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education after they have
successfully completed the state-mandated training curriculum.
UTMB police officers are vested with the
same authority and responsibilities of any police officer of the state of
Texas while on property owned, leased or otherwise under the control of
UTMB. This includes full arrest authority.
Commissioned police officers and
noncommissioned guards are assigned to shifts to patrol the campus 24
hours a day, 365 days a year. The number of personnel on duty at any given
time varies with the changing needs of the campus.
The UTMB Police Department maintains a
close working relationship with local, county and federal law enforcement
agencies. Crime-related reports and information, including incidents at
recognized off-campus student organization housing facilities, are
routinely exchanged. The UTMB Police Department coordinates the timely
release of information about serious crimes that may threaten the safety
of students and employees through the Office of University Advancement.
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Visit the
UTMB Police Web Site
Crime Statistics
The university believes that an
informed public is a safety-conscious public. The statistics below are
provided for your information, in compliance with the Jeanne Clery
Disclosure of Campus Security and Campus Crime Statistics Act. If you have
any questions, contact the UTMB Police Department at 772-1503.
Every October, UTMB will publish and
distribute an annual report of campus security policies and crime
statistics to all current students and employees; provide copies of the
report to the applicants for enrollment or employment upon request; and
submit a copy of the report to the Secretary of Education. The annual
campus crime statistics report will reference crimes which occur on
property owned or controlled by UTMB and may be supplemented by listing
crimes which occur off of the campus in buildings or on property owned or
controlled by student organizations that are
recognized for purposes of this Act
by the institution, when such statistics are available from local police
departments.
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