Bomb Threat

If you receive a bomb threat over the telephone:

• Be calm and do not panic.
• On display-type telephones, note the number from where the call is coming. Note the exact time of the call.
• Write down the statements made as accurately as possible.
• Listen to the voice to determine, if possible, the sex and age of the caller. Note any identifying attributes such as an accent, a lisp, or background noises. Attempt to question the caller.
• Immediately notify your supervisor and the University Police Department at 3111.
• Complete a Bomb Threat report form, available from University Police. The on-duty University Police shift supervisor will direct the following: notify the appropriate responders (Fire Department, Fitchburg Police Department) and campus staff (President’s Office, Dean of Resident and Academic Life’s Office).

If a bomb threat is received, University Police, in conjunction with other emergency responders as appropriate, will conduct a thorough search of the campus or specific area under threat.

The following procedures are followed in order to conduct such a search:

• The University Police department shift supervisor will direct the search in such a manner that all areas of the threatened facility are methodically searched.
• All available University Police officers will be dispatched to conduct a discreet search of the location involved.
• Maintenance personnel will be asked to assist in the search on a volunteer basis.
• Radios will not be transmitted within 500 feet of the threatened facility. A location outside the area will be designated for pre-search instruction and searchers can monitor their radios for instructions during the search.
• The search will include all rooms, locked and unlocked (unless otherwise directed by the University Police Department shift supervisor), all unlocked cabinet doors and drawers, classroom furniture, trash receptacles, shelves and ledges, and all other unsealed containers (boxes and crates).
• If a suspicious item is discovered, it will not be touched or moved. University Police will coordinate the securing of a safe perimeter pending the arrival of personnel equipped and trained to remove the threat.