On rare occasions, students become missing. In other words, there are times that a particular student’s present whereabouts is unknown or unclear. In order for the university to account for the whereabouts of a resident student when that student is believed to be missing, this must be reported to the University Police immediately. There is no amount of time that an individual must be missing in order to report an incident of this nature. The University Police will begin a missing person investigation as soon as it is reported. This investigation will be conducted as specified in the New Jersey Attorney General Guidelines and the William Paterson Missing Student Policy. When a student applies for housing on campus, they have the option of supplying the name of a specific person and contact information for that person as a confidential contact, in the event that the student becomes missing. This contact could be a relative, a “best friend”, a neighbor, a roommate, or any person who would be apt to have daily contact with the student. The only reason for a student’s confidential contact to be accessed by any-one is in the event that a student is believed to be missing. As a result, access to the confidential contacts of students is limited to supervisory persons employed within Residence Life, and access will be gained only if a student is believed to be missing. In the event that a student is reported missing, a member of the University Police will have access to this information that is stored in each residence hall. In cases of students less than 18 years of age, a parent or guardian would be notified immediately. Within 24 hours of the report of the missing person being confirmed and being unresolved, the University Police will distribute a missing person alert to members of the campus community. For a digital copy of this and other safety information, please download:Safety Newsletter
