The following procedures should be followed to respond to situations that may pose, or appear to pose risks, on the University campus:

Mail/Package Handling

Situation: Suspicious mail or packages

Actions:

1. A screening procedure has been developed for the campus mailroom. Mailroom employees are on the alert for suspicious letters or packages and will contact police in the event that a delivered parcel causes concern.

2. The procedure outlined above should be sufficient to screen most questionable packages from the mail delivery system. But, department staff should also be on alert for questionable letters and packages, especially those from unrecognizable sources. If department staff have any concerns about letters or parcels delivered by campus mail personnel, they should not open the package. They should immediately call the University Police at 3-3333. University Police will retrieve the item and communicate with the Atlanta Fire Department, the designated agency for handling suspicious or threatening items.

3. Some packages are delivered directly to departments by parcel delivery services (e.g., UPS, Fed Ex, etc.). In the event that a package delivered directly to a department by any carrier appears to be threatening, do not open the package - call the University Police immediately at 3-3333. University Police will retrieve the item and communicate with the Atlanta Fire Department, the designated agency for handling suspicious or threatening items.

Situation: Suspicious, unattended package is discovered on campus

Action: Do not touch the package - call the University Police at 3-3333 immediately.

Hazardous Chemicals or Materials

Situation: Hazardous materials are discovered in air conditioning/heating systems

Action: Call the University Police at 3-3333 immediately if any foreign substance is detected in the air conditioning or heating systems. The University Police will contact Facilities Management Services (FMS), who can shut down the systems in 28 of the 31 buildings on campus via a computer program. In the three buildings that are not controlled by computer programming, a FMS staff member will be dispatched immediately to shut down the system. FMS personnel are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the event of an air conditioning/heating system emergency incident.

Situation: Radiological and hazardous material is received at Central Receiving locations or delivered directly to a facility

Action: Call the University Police at 3-3333.

The University Police will contact the Radiological Safety Officer for retrieval and disposal of the material.

Threatening Individual(s)

Situation: Suspicious or threatening individuals in campus buildings, campus grounds, or adjacent properties

Action: Call the University Police at 3-3333 immediately.

Situation: Students, faculty, or staff engaging in confrontational behavior

Action: Call the University Police at 3-3333 immediately.

Unlawful Access to Buildings or Breach of Security

Situation: Intruder enters campus facilities

Action: Call the University Police at 3-3333 immediately.

Unauthorized Access to Computer Network

Situation: Unauthorized entry into the University's computer network is discovered

Action: Call the IS&T Security Officer, Tammy Clark, at 3-4509, or call the IS&T Help Desk at 3-4357 and ask that Ms. Clark be paged immediately. The Security Officer will contact the University Police, if it is determined that further action should be taken.

Inquiries from external organizations

If a department is contacted by the media to answer any questions, all calls should be directed to Deanna Hines, Department of University Relations, at 1-1350. Deanna Hines will answer all media questions.

Prepared by the Office of the Vice President for Finance and Administration
November 2, 2001