USC supports the health and safety of all students. This policy and procedure has been developed to assist in locating students who reside in on-campus and university-owned housing and who have been determined by USC to be missing. Any member of the USC community who believes that a student is missing should immediately notify the Department of Public Safety (DPS) at (213) 740-6000 or the Assistant Provost for Student Affairs, Support and Advocacy at (213) 740-2421. Any university official who believes a student is missing is required to immediately notify DPS.
Each student who resides on-campus or in university-owned housing has the option to confidentially register contact information for an individual or individuals to be contacted no later than 24 hours following an official determination by DPS, in consultation with Student Affairs, that the student is missing. Students may register confidential emergency contact information through Housing at the time of application for university housing. Students may update or change their confidential emergency contact information at any time by contacting Housing. Housing is required to obtain emergency contact information for any student under the age of 18 years who will reside on-campus or in university-owned housing.
Confidential contact information registered pursuant to this policy will be accessible only by authorized campus officials and law enforcement, and will only be used in furtherance of a missing persons investigation. If DPS, in consultation with Student Affairs, makes an official determination that an on-campus resident or student residing in university-owned housing has been missing for more than 24 hours, USC will, within 24 hours following such determination, notify the individual or individuals the missing student has confidentially registered with the university pursuant to this policy. If the missing student is under 18 years old and is not an emancipated minor, the university will notify the student’s custodial parent or guardian immediately upon making the determination that the student is missing. The university will further notify either the Los Angeles Police Department or other appropriate local law enforcement agency within 24 hours following a determination that any on-campus resident or resident in university-owned housing, regardless of age, is missing.
Student Support and Advocacy (Student Affairs – Crisis Management Team) and DPS work together closely to locate missing persons. Accordingly, each unit is timely informed, where appropriate, after receiving a report of a missing person, in order to enhance communication between and among university units and to facilitate an expedient approach to handling of missing persons matters.
Responsible Offices
Department of Public Safety
capsnet.usc.edu/department/department-public-safety
(213) 740-6000 (UPC)
(323) 442-1200 (HSC)
Student Affairs
studentaffairs.usc.edu
studentaffairs@usc.edu
(213) 740-2421
Issued by
Elizabeth Garrett, Provost and Senior Vice President, Academic Affairs
Todd R. Dickey, Senior Vice President, Administration
University of Southern California