Missing Students
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to
provide the procedures for reporting, investigating and making emergency
notifications regarding any resident student of Church Divinity School
of the Pacific who is believed to be missing. This policy is required
under the Higher Education Re-authorization Act of 2008.
Policy
School officials should be notified that a
member of the CDSP community is or is suspected of being missing.
School officials, once notified, should notify the school’s safety
officer and the local law enforcement agency.
General Provisions
Any member of the CDSP
community, including employees and students, who is concerned that a
member of the school community is missing should contact the Dean of
Students office (510-204-0715) as soon as it is determined that the
individual is missing as defined below. Definition A student is presumed
to be missing when his/her absence is inconsistent with his/her
established patterns of behavior and deviation cannot be readily
explained. Before presuming that a person is missing, reasonable
measures should be taken to determine whether or not the person is at
their off-campus place of residence and whether or not anyone familiar
with the person has seen or heard from the person recently or is aware
of where they may be.
Emergency Contacts
Students may identify an
individual to be contacted if he or she is determined to be missing. If a
student is determined to be missing, in accordance with this policy,
the school will contact the individual not later than 24 hours after the
time the student is determined to be missing. Students who wish to
identify an emergency contact should submit this information to the
Registrar or the Dean of Students. Only officials of the school shall
have access to this information and shall use it for official purposes
only.
Notification to School Officials
A member of the
CDSP community who suspects a school community member is missing should
immediately notify the Office of the Dean of Students.
School Investigation
Upon notification that a
member of the school community may be missing, the Office of the Dean of
Students shall conduct an investigation to determine facts regarding
the report. If the investigator determines that the student may in fact
be missing, the investigator will notify the school campus security
officer and the City of Berkeley Police Department. The City of Berkeley
Police Department will make the determination that the student is
missing.
Notification to Emergency Contacts
If a local law
enforcement agency has been notified and makes a determination that a
student who is the subject of a missing person report has been missing
for more than 24 hours and has not returned to the campus, the school
will attempt to contact the emergency contact in accordance with the
student’s designation. If the student is under 18 years of age and is
not emancipated, the school will attempt to notify the student’s
custodial parent or guardian and any other designated contact person.