Public Safety

The Davis & Elkins College Office of Public Safety’s mission is to professionally provide a safe and secure learning, working and residential environment for students, faculty, staff and visitors. 

The Office is responsible for the safety and security of the campus 24-hours a day, 365-days per year. Officers monitor campus activity, including activity in residence halls by conducting both foot and vehicular patrols; in an effort to deter crime and to assist and resolve issues as they arise. To contact the Office of Public Safety, please call or text 304-704-9111, or as a back-up number, the Student Life on-call phone at 304-642-4284.  

Emergency Notification System

To communicate emergency information to the campus community, the College has implemented RAVE Mobile Alert. RAVE Mobile Alert is a state-of-the-art mass notification system that is capable of sending notifications instantly and simultaneously to all registered mobile devices and email addresses. Notifications may also be posted on the College website and social media accounts. Messages will be urgent and of emergency nature only. For this notification system, twice a year, all current faculty, staff and student information necessary to receive emergency notifications will be uploaded to the system. You may opt-out if you choose not to receive emergency notifications. In order to opt-out, you must visit the Office of Public Safety and fill out an opt-out form. 

The sex offender registry for the state of West Virginia or for any county in the state can be found at www.wvstatepolice.com. You must click on SEX OFFENDERS and then scroll down and click on ALL COUNTIES or type in the specific county you want to search. You will then get a list and photo of each person registered, with additional background information. 

 

Annual Campus Reporting (Jeanne Clery Act)

The Clery Act requires colleges and universities that receive federal funding to publish and distribute an annual security report (ASR) to current and prospective employees and students by October 1 each year. The ASR must include three previous calendar years’ worth of Clery crime statistics plus details about efforts taken to improve campus safety. It must also include policy statements regarding crime reporting, campus facility security and access, law enforcement authority, alerting the campus community of potential ongoing threats or immediate health or safety concerns, incidence of alcohol and drug use, and the prevention of/response to dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking (DVSAS). 

It also requires that crime data be collected, reported and disseminated to campus. Crime data is disseminated in a separate publication to all students and employees. 

To review the campus statistics, visit the U.S. Department of Education website and enter “Davis & Elkins College” in the ‘Name of Institution’ search field. 

The 2024 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report was issued to the campus community in September 2023. View the Annual Security & Fire Safety Report 2024 here.

Campus Incident Reporting

Campus Security Authorities Responsibilities and Resources

As part of the Clery Act, qualifying incidents reported to University Police, from various sources including Campus Security Authorities, are required to be annually published and made available to the campus community. One purpose of the Clery Act is to encourage the reporting and collection of accurate campus crime statistics to promote crime awareness and enhance campus safety. The intent of including non-law enforcement personnel in the Campus Security Authority (CSA) role is to acknowledge that some community members and students in particular may be hesitant about reporting crimes to the police, but may be more inclined to report incidents to other campus-affiliated individuals. 

Who must report qualifying crimes?

CSAs include members of the campus police department or campus security department of an institution, any person(s) who has the authority and the duty to act or respond to particular issues on behalf of the college/university, any individual(s) who has significant responsibility for students and campus activities. At Davis & Elkins College, the following individuals are designated as Campus Security Authorities: 

  • Vice Presidents, Department/Division chairs, Directors and Coaches; 
  • Any faculty member responsible for supervising any activities or programs that include direct contact with students outside of the classroom (includes all faculty advisors to student groups and organizations); 
  • Any staff member whose primary job description includes providing academic advice to students; 
  • Residence hall staff; and, 
  • Office of Student Life staff. 

Any individual or organization specified in an institution’s statement of campus security policy as an individual or organization to which students and employees should report criminal offenses is considered a CSA. College CSAs have an obligation to promptly report allegations of Clery Act defined incidents which occurred on campus, on public property bordering campus and in non-campus areas which the College leases or otherwise controls. These incidents include: 

  • murder and non-negligent manslaughter 
  • negligent manslaughter 
  • robbery 
  • aggravated assault 
  • burglary 
  • motor vehicle theft 
  • arson 
    • persons arrested or referred for campus disciplinary action for liquor law violations, drug-related violations and illegal weapons possession violations 

    In addition, the Clery Act requires institutions to report statistics for certain hate crimes (bias-motivated incidents). 

    Crime Reporting Process

    If a Clery Act qualifying crime or an incident that may be a crime is reported to a CSA, the CSA is obligated to record the information using the CSA Incident Report Form. The reporting CSA should ensure that he/she completes all information on the form based on the information in their possession. CSAs completing the CSA Incident Report Form should not include any personal identifying information of the reporting party or other individuals in the report. CSAs should not investigate the crime or attempt to determine whether a crime, in fact, took place. Davis & Elkins College Office of Public Safety personnel may later contact the reporting CSA to gather additional information if needed. When in doubt a report should be completed and submitted. Do not assume someone else will file a report.

    Crime/Emergency and Non-Emergency Reporting

    Regardless of your status (CSA or non-CSA), all community members are encouraged to promptly report all campus related criminal incidents and other public safety related emergencies to the Office of Public Safety. For incidents requiring immediate attention, dial 911, then contact the Office of Public Safety. 

    Click here to complete the Title IX Incident Report online.
    Click here to complete an Incident Report Form online for Clery and non-Clery violations. 

    The Emergency Response and Safety Plan 2024 provides the protocols, evacuation procedures and key actors with contact information in the event of an emergency, and similar to the Annual Security & Fire Safety Report, is disseminated to the campus community annually. View the Emergency Response & Safety Plan 2024 here.