Two instances of sexual assault were reported to UPD last week.
UB alerts were not sent out for these incidents, according to UPD Deputy Chief Police Joshua Sticht because he said they did not feel the incidents posed a serious threat.
The Clery Act is a federal law that requires college campuses to alert students about crimes that occur on campus with basic information, such as the date and location of the incident. Because these events occurred “a long time ago or off campus,” UB was not obligated to report them.
“I don’t know whether that’s going to wind up as something that’s prosecutable,” Sticht said. “Occasionally we wind up handing it off to the district attorney’s office or whichever police department for the area where we’re doing the investigation.”
The first incident took place over a year and a half ago. Delayed reports like this are not unusual.
“It’s very difficult for a victim to come forward a lot of the time, so it’s not unusual to get something reported to us that’s that long ago,” Sticht said. “And in situations like that our responsibility is still to ensure the victim gets the accommodations and resources they need to be able to move on.”
The second incident occurred “very far” off campus, according to Sticht. The victim came to UPD looking for medical and counseling assistance, Sticht said.
Stitch said UB is making sure the victims get any kind of accommodations they may need and are being briefed on what resources they have access to.
“We still have to do some research and investigation to make sure the victims get what they need but neither one of these is a situation where there is a threat to people on campus,” Sticht said. “That’s why these ones didn’t generate alerts like the ones back in February did.”
Both incidents are under investigation per Title IX requirements.
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