Everyone at Yale Feeling Safe

Recently, Chief Ronnel Higgins and Kimberly Goff-Crews, Secretary and Vice President for University Life sent the message below to the entire Yale community.

Dear Yale faculty, staff, and students,

Our Yale community is a diverse community. Talking to students, faculty, staff, visitors, and our New Haven neighbors, one quickly learns how many unique perspectives and experiences are represented here. But there is at least one common interest across this community: Everyone at Yale feeling safe. 

Advancing this cause requires real partnership and an integrated team effort. We cannot do it alone. But the organizations we lead—Public Safety and the Office of University Life—have important roles to play.

In recent conversations across the community, we’ve heard many of you tell us you would like more regular communication that’s responsive to three related needs:

1. Equipping you with knowledge and resources to help you feel safe
2. Making sure you know what to do when there is a problem, or threat to health or safety
3. Instilling confidence that when there is a problem and you reach out to Public Safety for assistance, it is going to help make things better

Below we highlight timely and relevant information across all three areas. In future messages, we will provide more information and updates—all informed by our ongoing dialogue across the Yale community.

Knowledge and resources to help you stay safe
Crimes such as robberies, burglaries, and thefts increase slightly during the holiday season. Whether you are traveling or will remain on campus over winter recess, we encourage you take extra caution.

• To ensure delivery of your packages, consider the student mail and shipping services or Amazon Hub Locker.
• To protect against cyber fraud, pause before you click on links or open attachments. Cybercriminals may send emails or texts that appear legitimate, including fake package delivery notifications, sales promotions, order confirmations, and shipping notices. Consider enabling multi-factor authentication, and verify where short links really go using a URL expander.
• If you drive a car, remember to lock your doors, keep all keys on your person, keep valuables out of sight, and park in well-lit areas.
• If you’re traveling, please take your valuables (including your laptop) with you.

Knowing what to do when there is a problem, or a threat to health and safety
As it is darker outside earlier, this is a great time to download and use the LiveSafe app.

• Walking home alone from your friend’s residence hall or from studying late at the library? With the SafeWalk feature, you can invite friends and family to temporarily follow your location on a real-time map. They will see you on the map as you walk to your destination and know when you arrive safely.
• Want a safety escort? Request a campus safety escort, quickly and easily. We have your back.
• Get locked out? Request assistance via the LiveSafe app and Security will be on their way.

Instilling confidence that when there is a problem and you reach out to Public Safety for assistance, it is going to help make things better
Members of our community come from diverse backgrounds and the presence of police officers can mean different things to different people. We have adapted the way we respond, sending police officers only to situations that require them. This infographic shows some of the important shifts, from the past, to the “fit-for-purpose” model.

To hear our informal conversation on these topics, check out the Campus Roll Call podcast.

Together, let’s continue to advance the cause of Everyone at Yale feeling safe!

Sincerely,

Kimberly Goff-Crews,
Secretary and Vice President for University Life

Ronnell Higgins,
Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police