Reporting obligations

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• Duties under the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015
• Involvement of police and criminal courts

Duties under the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015

The University complies with the Prevent Duty, which aims to stop individuals from being drawn into terrorism.

Key commitments

• Protecting the safety and wellbeing of staff, students, and others interacting with the University.
• Upholding legal responsibilities while promoting academic freedom and freedom of speech (please visit our Freedom of Speech Code of Practice).
• Supporting equality, diversity, and campus cohesion.
• Taking a proportionate and risk-based approach based on local contexts.

Addressing misconduct telated to terrorism

• Students involved in criminal acts or misconduct related to terrorism may face disciplinary action, including expulsion (enforced withdrawal).
• The University is legally required to share confidential information within the institution or with external authorities when individuals are deemed at risk of involvement in terrorism.
• Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed if statutory authorities require cooperation in investigations.

Involvement of police and criminal courts

The decision to report a crime to the police is usually the reporting student's choice, except in the following situations:

1. When the University is legally required to report (for example, safeguarding vulnerable individuals).
2. When failing to report could pose a risk to others (for example, significant violence).

If a crime is reported to the police, the University will:

• Consider the reporting student’s wishes while prioritising safety and public interest.
• Only act against their wishes in exceptional circumstances (for example where there are serious risks to others).

Even if the reporting student chooses not to involve the police, the University may still use its disciplinary procedures to investigate the reported misconduct. The University does not determine criminal guilt but decides whether a breach of its policies is more likely than not to have occurred. However, investigations may be limited where a student does not report or retracts a statement in relation to a reported serious offence, to the police.

The University may liaise informally with the police for advice, such as:

• Whether a case is considered serious.
• Whether there are compelling reasons to report a crime against the student's wishes.

A serious offence is defined as one that could result in an immediate custodial sentence or is tried only in a Crown Court.

If a case is referred to the police, the University will usually:

• Pause disciplinary action until the police and courts conclude their investigations. This is usually requested by the police so as not to compromise criminal proceedings.
• Resume disciplinary procedures after the criminal case is completed, taking the outcome into account.

The University operates on a different standard of proof:

• Criminal courts require proof "beyond reasonable doubt".
• The University decides based on the "balance of probabilities" and may consider additional evidence. The University may therefore reach a different conclusion to that of the criminal court.

If the situation changes following an appeal against a conviction or sentence, the University might re-consider its action once any formal legal process has finished.

If a criminal conviction has been made:

• The University will not re-investigate the facts. The finding would be made by the University that the individual has engaged in misconduct by committing a criminal offence.
• The individual may still respond to misconduct reports, normally in a disciplinary hearing.

If an individual is given a prison sentence or is on remand, no investigation will take place, but a hearing will. The individual will be given the opportunity to respond to reports via email or letter or to send a representative to the hearing, which would usually be held online. A decision will be made by the disciplinary hearing panel. For suspended sentences, the disciplinary process will proceed, and the individual will be given the opportunity to participate in a hearing.