Public Safety works with United Asian Advocates to change UC Aware policy

The University of Cincinnati Public Safety Department recently made an addition to the Timely Warning Policy, which addresses UC Aware notifications, based on a suggestion from the United Asian Advocates.

UC Aware notifications are one type of safety notification that Public Safety sends to students, faculty and staff. They are distributed for crimes that have already occurred but represent an ongoing threat. Members of the United Asian Advocates approached Public Safety Director and Chief of Police James Whalen, and asked if the policy of UC Aware notifications could be revised to included biased-based crimes.

A biased-based crime is a criminal offense that manifests evidence that the victim was intentionally selected because of the perpetrator’s bias against the victim or their identity.

“When the United Asian Advocates approached us, we saw it as an opportunity to not only improve our UC Aware notifications, but also as an opportunity to raise awareness about biased-based crimes and the impact they have on our community,” said Director Whalen.

Members of the Public Safety Department worked with members of the United Asian Advocates to adapt the policy to add biased-based crimes as a crime that would prompt the department to distribute a UC Aware notification. The department then shared the adapted policy with the representatives from Undergraduate Student Government, Graduate Student Government and the Student Safety Board, then created a final version of the policy based on their feedback.

“The students were an integral part of making this addition to the Timely Warning Policy. We appreciate their collaboration and input that they provided throughout the process,” said Director Whalen.

The full policy is available on the Public Safety website.