Yale’s police union distributes ‘misleading’ flyer on crime rates for first-year students, university says

By Ashley R. Williams, CNN

(CNN) — As new students arrived on campus for the fall semester at Yale University, they were given flyers containing “misleading … disturbing and inflammatory rhetoric” about the school’s safety, according to university officials.

The flyers, titled “Welcome to Yale: A survival guide for first-year students of Yale University,” were distributed by the Yale Police Benevolent Association, a union representing Yale police officers, and featured a cloaked skull.

The flyers claimed New Haven’s crime and violence rates were “shockingly high” and “getting worse,” according to the Yale Police Benevolent Association’s pamphlet.

The flyers also stated rates of murders, burglaries and motor vehicle thefts had gone up this year.

“Nevertheless, some Yalies do manage to survive New Haven and even retain their personal property,” the flyers stated, followed by advice for students including staying off the streets after 8 p.m. and avoiding public transportation.

CNN has reached out to the police union’s president, Mike Hall, for comment.

Ronnell Higgins, Yale’s associate vice president for public safety and community engagement, said in a statement the campus has continued seeing a drop in crime, particularly violent crimes.

He said the most-reported campus crimes were theft of laptops, cell phones and unsecured motorized vehicles.

The handouts from the Yale Police Benevolent Association, which is currently undergoing contract negotiations with the university, “aimed (to create) fear among new students and their families,” Higgins said.

“Yale is committed to the safety and well-being of our students, faculty, staff, neighbors and visitors, and we unequivocally condemn the irresponsible and reckless actions of those who chose to spread this inaccurate information,” he said, adding robberies and burglaries throughout New Haven were also down.

City leaders, including New Haven’s mayor and the police chiefs of the city and Yale’s police department, decried the flyers at a news conference Tuesday, according to CNN affiliate WFSB.

Yale University Police Department’s chief, Anthony Campbell, said the police union’s flyer does not reflect the welcoming spirit of the campus police department, WFSB reported.

“When you welcome someone to your community, you embrace them, and you support them, and you ensure that they are successful here,” Mayor Justin Elicker said, WFSB reported.

“You don’t promote fear, you don’t promote misinformation, you don’t mislead people about the home that is their new home.”

Elicker said the police union’s flyers were “unbelievably offensive” and scared incoming students with an inaccurate portrayal of New Haven.

“I fully respect a union’s right to organize, to advocate for a good contract, but this crosses a line,” the mayor said, according to WFSB.

Mike Lawlor, a University of New Haven professor and New Haven Police Commissioner, described the scene painted by the flyer as a “dystopian hellscape.”

The Yale Police Benevolent Association’s flyer, Lawlor said, looked similar to a 1975 New York City Police Department benevolent association’s flyer titled, “Welcome to Fear City: A survival guide for visitors to the City of New York.”

A copy of the 1975 flyer shared with CNN from the New Haven Mayor’s Office also shows a depiction of the same cloaked skull featured on the Yale police union’s flyer.

“I think spooking first-year students out, especially when they’re with their families and it’s a really tender moment like the start of their college career, to be spooked out like this really puts a bad taste in your mouth,” Yale student Sovy Pham told WFSB.

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