Annual Security and Fire Safety Report

Release of Information

Availability of information

Union College shall make available to the public information concerning criminal    

offenses in the manner prescribed below.

The Union College Campus Safety Department maintains a Campus Crime Log, which is available for inspection at any time. All criminal incidents, which occur, are posted in this log within 24 hours of the first report of such incidents. Union College elects to archive crime log information sixty days after the date of the incident. The Union College Campus Safety Department shall respond to any request for this information within (2) business days from the receipt of the original request.

Withholding Information

Union College strives to provide information concerning the safety and security of its

campus in a very open and timely manner. However, it may be necessary to withhold

certain information at times. This shall be done in accordance with all applicable

Federal and State Laws. The policy for such withholdings is as follows.

Information concerning criminal events shall be withheld if: there is clear and  

convincing evidence that the release of the information would cause the suspect to flee

or avoid detection, would allow for the destruction of evidence. Also if the release of

the information would be a violation of law the information would be withheld. The

information will be withheld until the above stated damage is no longer likely to occur.

Only that information which absolutely must be withheld shall be. The crime shall still

be reported and made available for public inspection.

Missing Student Notification

Union College seeks to insure the safety of our students. To that end Union College has established the following policy.

• In the event that an individual has reason to believe that a student is missing, it should be reported to the safety officer on duty, The Residence Life Staff, or the Dean of Students.  
• Each Student Living on campus may register a confidential contact person to be notified in the event that they may become missing.
• Only authorized campus officials and law enforcement officers involved in the investigation may have access to this information.

• Local law enforcement will be notified of a missing student even if that student has not registered a contact person
• Parents of all students who are less than 18 years old and not emancipated will be notified immediately.
• All reports of missing students will be referred immediately to the Barbourville Police Department.
• Should the situation warrant a faster response, these actions may be taken earlier than twenty four hours after a student was last seen.

Emergency Response and Evacuation

In the event of a substantial emergency which requires Union College to alter its normal operations, the college will, without delay, issue a notification to the campus community. This noticed will be issued while taking into account the overall safety of the community, and will only be delayed if, in the judgment of the Emergency Management Team, its release would hamper efforts to assist victims, or to contain, respond to or mitigate the emergency. 

•  In the event of an emergency the campus safety office will determine the extent of the emergency and in consultation with the Emergency Management Team  and local emergency first responder agencies will determine the appropriate action to be taken.
•  Notice of the action will be transmitted to the campus community utilizing 

1. The emergency text messaging system
2. The campus alert screens located throughout campus
3. The emergency  public address system located throughout the campus
4. Should the emergency require an evacuation of the campus and time permitting, this information and instructions will also be shared at hall meetings within each residence hall.   

•  Information concerning the emergency and the actions taken to respond to it will be disseminated by the Office of College Communications and other members of the college administration as may be required.
• Union College will work with local first responder and mutual aid agencies to test and evaluate its response and evacuation procedures on a yearly basis. This includes documenting a description of the exercise, as well as the date and time it occurred and the results of the exercise.

 2. Fire Safety

The administration of Union College believes that fire safety is of the utmost importance and we continually strive to be proactive in our approach to this issue.  The following are common fire safety policies for residential students as well as the campus at large.

•  Union College residence life staff and the Campus Safety Department hold twice yearly meetings with residential students to discuss and inform them of the policies of the college. The residence life staff hold yearly staff development training which includes fire safety and use a extinguishers
•  Union College is a tobacco free campus. Smoking is forbidden in all areas of the campus. No appliances with   exposed heating surfaces are allowed in the residential facilities of Union College, this includes electrical grills.
•  No fireworks or open flames are allowed on campus, accept as part of a sanctioned campus event.  
•  All residential facilities are equipped with audible and visual alarm systems, which can be triggered by both heat and smoke or by a pull station.

Pfeiffer Hall- Central alarm system covering all common areas and smoke detectors in each individual residential room.

Lakeside Hall- Central alarm system covering all common areas and smoke detectors in each individual residential room.

Stevenson Hall- Central alarm system covering all common areas and smoke detectors in each individual room

Stewart Apartments- Central alarm system covering all common areas and smoke detector in each individual room

Union Courts- Smoke detectors in all individual rooms tied to a central system which is monitored at all times

College Courts- Each individual apartment is equipped with smoke detectors

• Union College plans to have all residential living area alarms centrally monitored in the next few months.
• Fire drills were held in all residential facilities twice last year. These drills were unannounced and timed.
• If a fire alarm system is activated, all residents are required to leave the building. The campus safety department and residence life staff will work together to insure that all residents have left the area. Residents will be moved to a safe area where residence life staff will do a head count.
• All fires will be reported to Campus Safety, Dean of Students, and the Director of Residence Life. The campus safety department will insure that the Kentucky State Fire Marshall is notified of the fire.

Fires Statistics