WTAMU Police Department’s Response to Sexual Assaults
What will happen if I contact the WT University Police Department about being sexually assaulted?
If you are a victim or someone who a victim of sexual violence has confided in, UPD wants the opportunity to ensure you get access to help from us and our many partners in the community. We want you to have a voice in moving forward and receive consistent information about the services available here in our area.
Reaching out to police will be confidential and does not require you file a report or pursue criminal charges against the offender.
This is what UPD will do for you when you contact us, whether through 911, our 24-hour business line or stopping by the police department, which is open 24/7:
Rape and Sexual Assault - First Response
- All UPD officers are trained to understand the complexity of sexual violence reporting and are prepared to provide you with comprehensive information about the options a victim has.
- Our first responders will see that your voice is heard and your decisions are respected.
- We will check with you about emergency and nonemergency medical attention.
- In the event your assault occurred within the last 120 hours, you have the right to have a medical forensic examination with or without police involvement (18 and older only).
- We will arrange for a victim advocate to join you as soon as possible, if you desire one.
- We will provide you with options in writing and make sure you know who else can help including advocacy and support services both on and off campus.
- We will do our part to make you comfortable with the process and ensure transparency.
- We will ask as few questions as necessary as we progress through the initial interaction with you.
- At your request, we will investigate your assault as a crime, leaving your options open.
- If you choose to make a police report, we will work with you to gather the best evidence possible for later criminal proceedings, if that is the path you choose. Simply talking to an officer does not require you to make a police report. You can still talk with an officer to ask questions and explore options without doing that.
- If you choose to pursue a criminal investigation and or subsequent charges, we will diligently work to identify, locate, and arrest your offender if the situation dictates that approach, and meets with your approval.
- Bear in mind, federal law requires we report certain incidents to Title IX and Clery Compliance. Clery Compliance reporting is solely for statistical purposes.
- However, UPD, as well as Title IX, will ensure you are aware of all of your available options through both entities, and you can choose whether or not to participate in that process. While the Title IX investigation is a separate process from a law enforcement investigation, we work collaboratively with them in order to minimize retraumatization and repeated interviews. You can choose to participate in either process, both, or none.
- In the event your situation requires a timely warning under The Clery Act, your name will not be released in the warning. Identifying information will be protected to the extent of the law and any information included will aid in the prevention of similar crimes.
We encourage reporting sexual violence as a crime.