Publications and Policies > Right to Know > Campus Safety and Crime Statistics 2001-2003

For the period Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2003

Reporting Crime

The officers of Miami University's police department encourage all crime victims to report criminal activity immediately.

EMERGENCY: 911

Miami University Police
Oxford campus:
529-2222 (TTY/TDD accessible)

Oxford City Police
Off campus in Oxford: 523-4321

Regional Campus Security
Hamilton campus: 785-3222
Middletown campus: 727-3333

Building Security and Access

The residence halls are operated and maintained as student accommodations under policies and regulations established by the University Board of Trustees. Visitation is permitted in residence halls during certain specified hours. It is the responsibility of the guest(s) and the host to ascertain the permitted hours of visitation for a given hall. Residents may enter and leave their own hall after closing hours. Residents are permitted on weekends to have overnight guests of the same sex. Guests on any other night may stay only with the permission of the freshman adviser or head resident. All guests must be registered in the residence hall. For more information regarding access to residence halls, see the section on Student Affairs Division, Part XI Residence Halls, of The Student Handbook.

Other campus facilities have specified hours of operation and are secured at closing times. University police officers actively patrol the campus. Shrubbery and trees are regularly trimmed to maintain a safe and attractive landscape. All campus lighting is numbered to ensure accurate reporting and rapid repair of non-functioning lights. Twice annually a committee of faculty, staff, and students tours the campus to determine where additional lighting may be needed.

University Police

The Miami University Police is located in the Police Services Center, 4945 Oxford-Trenton Road, near Ditmer Parking Lot.

Police officers investigate alleged criminal activity, search and arrest as authorized by law, and use necessary and reasonable force to enforce the law and protect persons and property. They evaluate reported crimes, conduct investigations, and effect arrests.

Police officers enforce all state and local laws, including underage drinking, controlled substances, and rape and other forms of sexual assault. They are responsible for enforcing laws on all university-owned property and work cooperatively with the Oxford police and other local law enforcement agencies.

The University Police also works cooperatively with the Office of Judicial Affairs to enforce Miami's Code of Student Conduct.

Timely Warnings

The Campus Crime Alert is designed to give students a timely notification of such crimes and to heighten safety awareness as well as to seek information that will lead to an arrest and conviction of the perpetrator when violent crimes against persons or major crimes against property have occurred. Miami University will issue a Campus Crime Alert when a crime is reported to the Miami University Police or the Oxford Police, Hamilton Police, or Middletown Police that represents a threat to the safety of members of the community. Every attempt will be made to distribute a crime alert within 12 hours of the time the incident is reported; however, the release of the crime alert is subject to the availability of facts concerning the incident. The alerts are distributed through a network of on-campus offices and off-campus businesses and property managers. Crime alerts are posted on the Miami University Police website at www.muohio.edu/police/.

Reporting Crime

All crimes should be reported immediately to the police. For crimes occurring on campus, call Miami University Police; for crimes occurring off campus, call the Oxford, Hamilton, or Middletown Police:

Emergencies: 911

Non-emergencies:
Miami University Police 529-2222
Oxford Police 523-4321
Hamilton Police 868-5811
Middletown Police 425-7700

Campus Crime Prevention and Safety Awareness Programs

The Miami University Police patrols the campus 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, using cars, bikes, and officers on foot.

Emergency phones have been placed in locations throughout campus, as have posters regarding the reporting of crimes.

The University Police has developed and implemented "Promises to Sexual Assault Victims," a program designed to assist victims of sexual assault in reporting and prosecuting the matter.

The University Police distributes throughout the campus flyers promoting personal safety and alerting people to specific crimes or problems.

The University Police has a team of officers dedicated to community relations and crime prevention who coordinate numerous programs for the campus. Paper information such as flyers and pamphlets are distributed regularly from the station, through campus mail, and at fairs. Presentations are made within residence halls, fraternity houses, and to faculty/staff groups. Three videos on personal safety are available for check-out from King Library, and the department also registers bicycles, loans engravers, provides property logs, and videotapes possessions. All services are provided at no charge.

The Office of Judicial Affairs is responsible for administering the Code of Student Conduct. The code outlines the rights and responsibilities of students, behaviors prohibited on and off campus, possible sanctions, and the procedural rights of students and student organizations.

Any person, agency, organization or entity may make a complaint to the Office of Judicial Affairs alleging a violation of the Code of Student Conduct. In addition, criminal acts such as sexual assault, assault, burglary, robbery, murder, and motor vehicle theft may also be reported to the Office of Judicial Affairs, which will contact the University Police.

The Office of Judicial Affairs is located in Room 229 Warfield Hall and can be reached at 529-1417.

Campus Sexual Assault Prevention Programs

Education programs to promote awareness

Several programs that promote awareness and prevention of sexual assault are offered to students at Miami. In addition to presentations and printed literature, the University Police offers Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) training for women. This 12-hour class taught by a police officer is a nationally recognized program that teaches women how to avoid potentially dangerous situations and how to use defensive measures to escape from them if they can't be avoided. It is currently offered at $25 per class, which includes a copy of the RAD manual. More information can be obtained by calling 529-1922.

The Nighttime Door to Door escort service is provided through Parking and Transportation Services. This program provides a safe escort for students traveling alone during the hours of darkness. An escort can be obtained by calling 529-2277 from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m. Monday through Wednesday and until 4 a.m. the remainder of the week. In addition to these programs, the Women's Issues Student Educators (WISE) provide programs, as do residence hall staff.

Sex offense procedures, including preservation of evidence and to whom to report

Victims of sexual assault are strongly encouraged to report the incident to the police. The victim should not change clothes or otherwise cleanse her/himself before going to a hospital in order to preserve physical evidence that may be needed for investigation and prosecution. If the victim is reluctant to contact the police initially, she/he should still seek treatment at a hospital to preserve evidence and address any health concerns.

Notify police; university's assistance in notification

The university will provide whatever assistance the victim requires in notifying the police. On campus, reports should be made to the University Police (529-2222), while off-campus incidents should be reported to the Oxford Police (523-4321). Emergency assistance can be obtained anywhere by dialing 911. If the victim does not wish to prosecute the offender or even report the offense to police, she/he can still file a report with the Office of Judicial Affairs (529-1417), and, provided the offender is a student, the university's disciplinary process may be initiated.

Counseling resources

Counseling is available to victims 24 hours a day by calling the independent Butler County Rape Crisis Program at 523-4146. Student victims may also seek assistance from the university's Student Counseling Service at 529-4634 during normal business hours. On-call counselors can be reached at any time through the university police dispatcher at 529-2222.

Changing victim's academic and living conditions

Miami University will make changes in the victim's academic and living conditions if the victim wishes. In addition, the university police make a number of promises to victims of sexual assault:

• Every effort will be made to accommodate a victim's preference as to the gender of the reporting officer;
• Every victim will be treated with respect and sensitivity;
• Every case will be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated regardless of the victim's gender or the gender of the assailant;
• The police will assist the victim in obtaining necessary medical attention and counseling and will continue to assist victims as they navigate the legal system.

For a complete copy of these promises to sexual assault victims, call the police department's community relations officer at 529-1922 or see the Miami University Police website at www.muohio.edu/police/.

University internal disciplinary procedures

The Student Conduct Regulations, as detailed within the Code of Student Conduct in the Miami Bulletin: The Student Handbook, clearly state the rights and responsibilities of students, behaviors prohibited, possible sanctions, and the procedural rights of students and student organizations. The policy on sexual assault is found in Section 103 (Physical or Mental Abuse or Harm) of the regulations, which provides:

Section 103. Physical or Mental Abuse or Harm. Intentional or reckless acts that do cause or reasonably could cause physical or mental harm to any person are prohibited. Actions that threaten or reasonably could cause a person to believe that the offender will cause physical or mental harm are also prohibited. Examples of prohibited behavior include murder, assault, battery, stalking, telephone harassment, computer harassment, sexual assault, sexual harassment, rape, threats, intimidation, physical abuse, verbal abuse, and any other conduct that threatens the health or safety of any person.

The policies, procedures, and sanctions outlined in the Code of Conduct apply to all violations of the code, and sexual assault violations are no exception.

As outlined in Part IV Hearing Procedures for Code One Offenses, the accused and the accuser are entitled to the same opportunities to have others present during a disciplinary proceeding and to present evidence. Both shall be informed of the outcome of any institutional disciplinary proceeding brought alleging a sex offense or crime of violence. Compliance with this subsection does not constitute a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Sanctions to be imposed upon students are varied and depend upon the violation and discipline history of the individual(s). Sanctions include disciplinary probation, suspension, and dismissal. In addition, "1219" Procedures (see The Student Handbook) may be initiated by the university upon the arrest of a student for sexual assault.

Prosecution - Survivors of sexual assault have the right and are strongly encouraged to pursue prosecution of the assailant under criminal law as well as a complaint under the Code of Student Conduct. In addition to legal and disciplinary action, a victim of sexual assault may consider retaining a private attorney to pursue a civil action for the recovery of damages.

For further information on the Student Conduct Regulations, contact the Office of Judicial Affairs, 229 Warfield Hall, 529-1417.

Alcohol and Drug Enforcement Policies

In accordance with the Miami Bulletin: The Student Handbook, Code of Student Conduct, Student Conduct Regulations, Sections 105, 106, and 202 and Appendix F:

Legal and responsible use of alcohol

The right to consume alcoholic beverages is limited by society through laws that establish minimum drinking ages, drinking and driving laws, and so on. Miami University also has established policies on alcohol use on campus and by campus groups. It is incumbent on students to become knowledgeable regarding these policies, whether for individual decision making or for planning programs and events for student organizations.

Because of Miami University's commitment to the responsible consumption of alcohol by those of legal age, mandatory minimum penalties will be imposed upon a student found to have committed a violation of this alcohol policy. For penalties, see Section 305 of the Student Conduct Regulations.

Other drug use

The use, offer for sale, sale, distribution, possession, or manufacture of any controlled substance or drug except as expressly permitted by law is prohibited. The use, offer for sale, sale, distribution, possession, or manufacture of chemicals, products, or materials for the purpose of use as an intoxicant except as expressly permitted by law is also prohibited. Examples of prohibited behavior include huffing or sniffing glue or paint, and the use of nitrous oxide (whip-its). Possession of drug paraphernalia is also prohibited. Drug paraphernalia as it applies in this section means any equipment, product, or material of any kind that is used in propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance.

Alcohol and other drug education

Miami University encourages education as the first step in assisting students to take responsibility for their behavior and to understand the consequences of current and future behavior as it relates to drug and alcohol use. Miami University currently has two education programs, the Alternatives Program and the Chemical Abuse Education Program.

The Alternatives Program is a two-hour program that focuses on decision making and responsible actions around alcohol use. The Chemical Abuse Education Program (CAEP), which is a four-hour program, focuses more specifically on drug use, abuse, and dependence. The primary focus of each program is to help students gain a broader knowledge regarding alcohol and other drug use by providing factual information about alcohol and other drug use and the negative consequences that may result from chemical use. Each program encourages abstinence and informs students of the health risks involved with continued use or abuse of alcohol or other drugs. These education programs also help students examine attitudes and influences, both internal and external, that affect their choices regarding chemical use.