Dear Graduate and Professional Students,
Concern has been raised recently about off campus incidents involving graduate and professional students. These incidents have generally been reported to Durham Police but in some cases, the information was not transmitted to Duke Police. Duke and Durham police have a close working relationship, and are continually working to improve communications as well as procedures for enhancing safety throughout the Duke and Durham community.
We also continue to work closely with GPSC leadership to understand the particular safety needs of the graduate and professional student community, and to effectively address those needs. We encourage you to alert us to safety concerns, either through GPSC, the Student Affairs office, or DUPD, so that we can continue to address safety and security issues that affect you.
In the event of a crime, or if you see suspicious activities, please call 911. If you’re off campus, that call will go to Durham Police. Please identify yourself as a Duke student to ensure that Durham Police will notify Duke Police. You can also notify DUPD directly by calling 684-2444. Be prepared to report as much of the following information as you know: type of crime, where the crime occurred, when the crime occurred, name and/or description of perpetrator of the crime, your name and location, and your relationship to the victim of the crime (victim, witness, friend, etc.).
If a reported crime poses an ongoing threat to members of the Duke community, you will hear from us. In addition to DUPD notifying you of crimes that fall under the Clery Act via blast email, emergency text messages, and other communications mechanisms, Student Affairs is committed to using those same tools to notify you in the following cases:
1. Non-Clery criminal acts toward a student that include a weapon and/or physical threat to the victim, and occurred on or near campus, or in an area frequented by students.
2. A pattern or wave of crimes on or near campus, or in an area frequented by students.
3. A pattern or wave of scams on or near campus, or in an area frequented by students.
4. Threats to campus, areas near campus, or areas frequented by students, as well as threats to events attended by students.
Though we know that, despite best efforts, some crime is inevitable, we are most fortunate to have very little crime perpetrated against Duke students. Nonetheless, I want to reiterate my commitment and that of my colleagues to mitigating dangers and keeping you informed, as best we can. For your part, please be aware of your surroundings, avoid risky behavior, and take advantage of the safety resources available to you. You can find a list of resources at http://studentaffairs.duke.edu/safety. I also encourage you to sign up for emergency text messaging at http://emergency.duke.edu. Through these and other avenues, we will continue to do our utmost to keep you safe and aware.
Larry Moneta
Vice President for Student Affairs