Official: Public safety notice should have been sent to everyone

Logan Hickman
Tue, 02 Dec 2014 17:58:20 +0000
Campus, Crime, Local, News, crime, Department of Public Safety, ohio state, osu, public safety notice, sexual assault, Spam

Despite some students saying they never got a public safety notice that was issued Monday while others said they got it twice, every person with a valid Ohio State email should have gotten the notice, an Administration and Planning spokesman said.

“Records indicate it was delivered to approximately 100,000 individuals,” Administration and Planning spokesman Dan Hedman said in a Tuesday morning email. “An unknown number may have received it twice, but our primary objective is to ensure the campus community is notified.”

University Police issued the notice Monday afternoon after a sexual assault was reported 9 p.m. Saturday by a female Ohio State student. It had occurred between 12:45 p.m. and 1:55 p.m. that day at Independence Hall.

The suspects were described as two white men. One was described as standing between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall, wearing a red sweatshirt and glasses with spiked hair.

The other was described as overweight with short red hair and acne scars on his face. He was wearing a red shirt and jeans.

The woman met the two suspects earlier in the day at a High Street bar, according to the public safety notice.

The investigation is open and ongoing, the notice said.

Hedman said the Department of Public Safety has no additional information to share beyond what’s in the public safety notice.

Monday’s notice also appeared to be formatted differently than previous notices and for some students, it was sent to their spam folders.

Hedman said the notice was made using the same program that issues alerts for the Buckeye Alert system, which is a change from previous notices. It was not a Buckeye Alert, however, Hedman said.

“We continue to refine the issuance of these timely warnings in an effort to enhance the reporting process,” he said.

The last public safety notice issued prior to Monday’s notice encountered technical issues as well.

That notice was issued Nov. 3 after a sexual assault was reported in a South Campus residence hall. It showed up for many as a blank email message because of “technical difficulties,” an official with the Department of Public Safety later said.

Even so, all public safety notices are posted online to the Department of Public Safety’s website.

There have been 10 public safety notices issued this year, five of which were issued this semester.

All five reported this semester dealt with crimes of a sexual nature.

About two-thirds of rapes are committed by someone known to the victim, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network website. OSU provides services for victims of sexual assault that include counseling, advocacy, wellness and health services through Student Life.