{
  "id": "2024-03-19-penn-state-beaver-stalking-timely-warning",
  "slug": "penn-state-beaver-stalking-timely-warning-2024-03-19",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Pennsylvania State University, Beaver",
    "shortName": "Penn State Beaver",
    "state": "PA",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "PSUAlert",
    "enrollment": 600
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-03-19",
    "endDate": "2024-04-02",
    "type": "stalking",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "headline": "Timely warning issued for a two-week stalking pattern reported to campus police",
    "headlinePublic": "Timely warning issued for a two-week stalking pattern reported to campus police",
    "summary": "Between March 19, 2024 and April 2, 2024, [Penn State Beaver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_State_Beaver) University Police received reports of a stalking pattern. The report was made at 6:08 PM EDT on April 6, 2024, and a Clery [VAWA timely warning](https://timelywarnings.psu.edu/beaver/24br00014) was posted on April 8, 2024, two days later. The case is part of [Penn State's centralized timely-warning archive](https://www.psucollegian.com/features/what-to-know-about-timely-warnings/article_339dbda8-70b7-11ef-8a9a-3b91c908dec2.html), which spans 24 campuses and is one of the most transparent in higher education.",
    "outcome": "Investigation ongoing. Warning posted with Clery/VAWA continuing-threat language. Suspect identification not made public.",
    "resolution": "under-investigation"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2024-04-08T10:00:00-04:00",
      "timestampApprox": "Posted April 8, 2024 (about 40 hours after report received)",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Stalking - VAWA has occurred at Beaver\n\nCase Number: 24BR00014\n\nUniversity Police received a report of a stalking at 6:08 p.m. on April 6, 2024. The reported incident occurred between March 19, 2024 and April 2, 2024 at Penn State Beaver.\n\nIt can be assumed that conditions continue to exist that may pose a threat to members and guests of the University community.\n\nThis warning is being issued in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA).\n\nMembers of the campus community are urged to use caution. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Penn State University Police at (724) 773-3888.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://timelywarnings.psu.edu/beaver/24br00014",
      "sourceDescription": "Penn State Timely Warnings (timelywarnings.psu.edu) — Beaver campus, case 24BR00014",
      "annotations": [
        "Penn State maintains a centralized timely-warning archive at timelywarnings.psu.edu spanning all 24 campuses, one of the most transparent in higher education",
        "Headline format 'Stalking - VAWA has occurred at [Campus]' uses the federal statutory category (VAWA) directly in the title",
        "Case numbering (24BR00014) is published — 'BR' = Beaver, 14th case logged in 2024",
        "Two-week incident window (March 19 - April 2) is unusually long for a single timely warning; it reflects the cumulative-pattern nature of stalking",
        "'It can be assumed that conditions continue to exist' is Penn State's standardized continuing-threat language across all campuses",
        "Penn State Beaver is a small branch campus (~600 students), even small campuses have full Clery obligations and issue formal timely warnings",
        "No suspect description is provided, common in stalking cases to protect investigation and potentially the survivor's identity",
        "VAWA citation alongside Clery is appropriate and best practice for stalking, dating violence, and domestic violence warnings"
      ],
      "characterCount": 734
    }
  ],
  "context": "[Penn State](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_State_University) operates one of the most transparent and well-organized [timely warning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clery_Act) archives in higher education. Every Clery and [VAWA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_Against_Women_Act) warning across the university's 24 campuses is published at [timelywarnings.psu.edu](https://timelywarnings.psu.edu/) under campus-specific URLs (e.g., '/beaver/' for Penn State Beaver), with case numbers, incident dates, and standardized continuing-threat language. According to [Daily Collegian reporting](https://www.psucollegian.com/features/what-to-know-about-timely-warnings/article_339dbda8-70b7-11ef-8a9a-3b91c908dec2.html), since January 2022 Penn State has issued 31 timely warnings system-wide, including 24 sexual offenses, two stalking cases, one aggravated assault, three burglaries, and one motor vehicle theft. This April 2024 [Penn State Beaver](https://beaver.psu.edu/) stalking warning illustrates the legal framework: stalking is a [VAWA-covered](https://www.justice.gov/ovw/violence-against-women-reauthorization-act-2013) Clery crime requiring timely warning when continuing-threat conditions are met, and the standardized phrase 'It can be assumed that conditions continue to exist that may pose a threat' is the institution's bright-line trigger. The two-week incident window (March 19 to April 2) reflects the cumulative-pattern nature of stalking, unlike most Clery crimes, the offense is constituted by a course of conduct rather than a discrete event.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Penn State's centralized timely-warning archive spans all 24 campuses with case numbers, a model of transparency",
    "Stalking is a VAWA-covered Clery crime requiring timely warning; dual-statutory citation is best practice",
    "The incident-window format (March 19 - April 2) reflects stalking's cumulative-pattern nature rather than a discrete event",
    "Even small branch campuses (~600 students at Penn State Beaver) have full Clery obligations",
    "Standardized continuing-threat language ('It can be assumed that conditions continue to exist') reflects an institutional bright-line trigger",
    "Stalking warnings rarely include suspect descriptions to protect investigation and potentially the survivor's identity",
    "Stalking timely warnings are rare, only 2 of 31 Penn State warnings since 2022, despite stalking being a common reported crime"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Penn State Beaver Timely Warning — Stalking VAWA (case 24BR00014)",
      "url": "https://timelywarnings.psu.edu/beaver/24br00014",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Penn State Timely Warnings centralized archive",
      "url": "https://timelywarnings.psu.edu/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "What to know about timely warnings — Daily Collegian",
      "url": "https://www.psucollegian.com/features/what-to-know-about-timely-warnings/article_339dbda8-70b7-11ef-8a9a-3b91c908dec2.html",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Penn State Beaver 2024 Annual Security Report",
      "url": "https://www.police.psu.edu/sites/police/files/2024-09/penn-state-beaver-2024-final.pdf",
      "type": "clery-asr"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "stalking",
    "vawa",
    "timely-warning",
    "branch-campus",
    "public-r1",
    "penn-state",
    "small-campus",
    "centralized-archive"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}