Part of feeling safe in a community requires being informed when a threat is presented. University Police and Student Safety Services strive to provide this information to the campus community through the Campus Crime Alert system.

Students can easily recognize the alerts by the bright yellow color of the fliers often tacked to bulletin boards in buildings or posted at bus stops off campus.

The alerts are provided to campus media, posted on the public safety Web site and distributed to offices, residence halls, libraries and some businesses located off campus.

According to University Police, an alert is usually prepared within 12 hours of a reported incident that presents an ongoing danger to the safety of students, faculty and staff.

The crime alert began in 1991 following the Clery Act, which said schools must make timely warnings to the campus community about crimes that pose a continuing threat.

According to Security on Campus, Inc., the Clery Act was named after Jeanne Clery, a Lehigh University freshman who was raped and murdered in her residence hall in 1986. Following her death, her parents discovered students were not notified of 38 violent crimes that took place on the campus during the three years prior to Clery’s murder, leading Congress to enact the law originally known as the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990.

University Police Chief Ron Michalec said the alert system hasn’t changed since it was first introduced in 1991.

“We have kept the alert consistent with what we’ve had in the past,” Michalec said. “It’s always been a yellow flier that reads ‘FYI’ at the top, and it probably won’t be changing anytime soon.”

Michalec said although there is no exact way to monitor the effectiveness of the alert system, it is important to always have the information readily available to the community so they know what to be looking out for in their neighborhood.

Laura Lyons, personnel manager of Student Safety Services, said students are more likely to request safety services when alerts are prevalent.

“Since the crime alert about the campus rapist was posted, the amount of requests for student escorts has nearly doubled,” Lyons said. “We often experience an increase such as this when security is heightened.”

Although the yellow fliers are often seen around campus, some students think the efforts to distribute off campus needs to be increased.

Morgan D’Andrea, a senior in business, lives on West 8th Street and said she never sees the alerts posted in her neighborhood.

“When I lived in the dorms, they were posted everywhere. Anytime there was an assault in the dorms you would see one, and now the only way for me to find out is to look online,” D’Andrea said. “I think it would be more beneficial if the circulation was increased, especially off campus.”

Whenever possible, the alert provides details of the crime, a description of the suspect, contact information and crime prevention tips.