The WarnMe system, which sends emails to notify students of emergencies happening on campus, is currently being updated to also inform students of crimes on campus.
Matt Carmichael, chief of the UC Davis Police Department, said the difference between a WarnMe alert and a timely notification is that a WarnMe is sent out to the community in emergencies to notify people to do something.
“When an incident occurs on campus we are required under the Clery Act to send out a timely warning,” Carmichael said. “A timely warning is sent out for limited events that are not expected to continue.”
Nick Crossley, the emergency manager of the UC Davis Safety Services, makes sure the WarnMe system is working and is coordinating the new updates.
“I work with students and faculty to coordinate disaster relief, responses and preparedness,” Crossley said. “The WarnMe system falls under that.”
According to Carmichael, the new updates will send timely warnings of crimes that happen on campus to students by email instead of through paper bulletins.
“We expect that sending crime bulletins via email will help solve crimes,” Carmichael said. “We already get several tips off our paper bulletins, but by reaching a wider audience, we expect to receive more tips.”
According to Crossley and Carmichael, the WarnMe alerts are sent to everyone with an @ucdavis.edu email, and the new notifications will be sent similarly.
“Everyone with an @ucdavis.edu address is sent WarnMe alerts which includes alumni and retired faculty members,” Carmichael said. “We can isolate the addresses to send emails only to people on campus.”
Students can sign into their profiles at warnme.ucdavis.edu and add other personal email addresses and cell phone numbers to be notified.
“We want 100 percent of people to add their cell phone numbers to their profiles,” Crossley said. “Right now, we are at 55 percent. Phone is the quickest way to be notified and we would only use a student’s number for emergency purposes.”
“We strongly recommend that students add their phone numbers to their WarnMe profile to make sure they are alerted,” Carmichael said.
Students Annette Miramontez, a first-year design major and Kimberly Mitchell, a first-year English major said the new updates will be helpful to the student body.
“It would be good to know because we would be more aware of what’s going on,” said Miramontez. “I have my phone on me all the time just about so if I get an alert I can just check it right then and there.”
Mitchell stressed the importance of getting timely notifications.
“I think knowing things on time or right after it happens is good. It’s good to know,” said Mitchell. “Even if it is a crime that seems isolated, it could still affect the campus because we don’t necessarily know everything about the crime. It’s better to have an idea about what’s going on.”
