There are laws to protect students from threatening crimes, but Dixie State University doesn’t have to alert students of all of them.
According to the DSU Police Departments’ crime log, there are more crimes than what gets talked about. If DSU did report all crimes there would be more fear than education within the university.
If a reported criminal case isn’t life-threatening or not a call for immediate danger, that is good reason for not being notified about it. This is also the case for crimes that fall under the Clery Act.
Blair Barfuss, chief of police and director of safety, said crimes are “Usually isolated to known individuals and doesn’t impact the community as a whole.”
DSU has a responsibility to protect the school and anyone affiliated with it. Hence why the emergency alert system was created. The EAS informs students and employees of high-demand crimes that are an immediate threat rather than all crimes, but these alerts are nowhere near timely.
When reporting a crime, there is policy and law to abide by on the crime log and through the EAS.
Barfuss said, “It’s outlined clearly by federal and state law as to which crimes get reported on the daily crime log.”
When there are worries about not getting alerts for all criminal activity, it is important to remember there are policies DSU has to go by.
According to the Office for Victims of Crime, “Preserving academic freedoms, complying with civil rights laws, and simultaneously ensuring a safe campus and workplace environment are tasks not easily accomplished.”
Keeping that in mind, it is important to trust DSU will alert students and employees when necessary. There should be no worry students and employees are not getting the proper notice they see fit. In the case of an emergency, the EAS will reach out through multiple sources, such as the DSU website, emails, phone calls and texts.
Barfuss said, “If we did one [EAS] for every crime committed, it gets abused, and nobody pays attention to those anymore.”
DSU is students’ home away from home, and there are policies in place to keep the environment safe.
