Editorial: Promptness important for Pitt police crime alerts

Being alerted more than 24 hours after a rape and home invasion occur close to campus is being… Being alerted more than 24 hours after a rape and home invasion occur close to campus is being alerted more than 24 hours too late.

A crime alert detailing the rape of a 20-year-old female student and the invasion of her apartment on Parkview Avenue Sunday was posted on the Pitt police website yesterday sometime between 11:40 a.m. and 1:20 p.m. At the time, the alert contained no description of the suspect, for whom police are still searching. The University didn’t release an Emergency Notification System alert either.

Pitt police Chief Tim Delaney argued that the delay in notification was appropriate because local media covered the event and it occurred off campus.

We disagree.

We believe that students should be informed within hours — not days — when violent crimes occur in Oakland, especially when a suspect is still on the loose.

Pitt police posted fliers across campus last September, when a student was assaulted outside Bouquet Gardens. We understand that Bouquet Gardens is on campus and Parkview Avenue is not. But given the fact that many students live in or walk through South Oakland, we see no reason why this week’s assault should be treated any differently.

When students know that a crime occurred, they can take precautions to increase their own safety, possibly reducing further crime.

Students need to be made aware of potential dangers in an efficient manner. And because we doubt all students compulsively check the Pitt police website for crime alerts, we feel an ENS alert would have been justified in this situation.