Reporting Misconduct

‘Misconduct’ just means poor conduct, or more simply, bad behaviour! For official purposes, this includes any behaviour that breaches the Regulations relating to the Discipline of Students, the rules about behaviour that apply to all students. Breaching other policies and contracts might also count as misconduct under those regulations. This could include your residence contract, which you signed when you accepted your accommodation offer, the policy on Political Expression and Campaigning in Residences, and The Student Code of Conduct, among others.

These documents are quite long and complex, but they're based on UK law. As a general rule, if something would be considered unacceptable, dangerous or antisocial in the wider world, it’s usually considered misconduct in the accommodation, too.

Common kinds of misconduct include things like:

• Smoking or vaping inside.

• Making loud noise during Quiet Time (11:00 pm - 7:00 am).

• Vandalising University property.

There are lots of reasons why you might need to report someone else for behaviour that's against the rules. As a student living in the Accommodation, you have the right to a pleasant living environment, a calm home life, and a peaceful night’s sleep. If other people are behaving in a way that affects these things, it’s completely reasonable to report their behaviour.

Issues like loud noise late at night, vandalism of communal areas, or smoking inside or too close to the buildings are common problems in any place where lots of people live close together. They disturb everyone, but they can’t be addressed until someone reports it. So, if other people’s inconsiderate or antisocial behaviour is affecting you, you have a right to report it so it can be addressed by Security, and by the ACS Conduct Team. 

What if you don’t really mind the bad behaviour around you? Well, even if someone’s antisocial behaviour doesn’t directly inconvenience you, there may still be times when it’s sensible to report it… if only to make it clear that you weren’t involved in it yourself!

Let’s consider an example. Imagine your flatmate’s guests cause some damage to the ceiling tiles in your flat and let off the fire extinguishers when there's no fire. If your flatmate won’t report it themselves and take responsibility for their guests’ actions, you should consider reporting it yourself, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, under your residence contract, you’re obliged to report any fire safety issues, so you share this responsibility with everyone in your flat. If you know about a problem and choose not to report it, you’re actually already in breach of your contract. in this scenario, your fire extinguishers have been used, and nobody’s reported it yet, so if there’s a real fire, you’ll also be in serious danger. Secondly, by reporting the problem yourself, you can act quickly to demonstrate that you weren’t the person responsible. This may help to show that any financial charges and disciplinary action related to the incident shouldn’t include you - which could save you a lot of stress later on!

So, overall, reporting can both help you make sure that problems can be addressed, and potentially protect you from any consequences for incidents that weren’t your fault.

There are various ways to report incidents, and based on the kind of report, the action taken will vary. Here’s a summary.

Reporting an incident to Security while it’s happening

Reporting to Security is usually the simplest way to handle any incident you’re concerned about. Security Services are available on campus 24/7, 365 days of the year. For any urgent incident, you should always call Security first. You can call Security at any time, and you can choose whether to give your details or remain anonymous. 

• For any urgent issue, call +44 114 222 4444.

• For any non-emergency reports or queries, call +44 114 222 4085.

• If you want to contact Security without making a phone call, you can also ask for help by using the SafeZone app.

The Security team works closely with the emergency services, and they can help make sure an ambulance gets to the right place, or that the police are called in for dangerous incidents. Calling Security gives the team the chance to address an issue in real time. So, even if an incident isn’t dangerous, if it is urgent and time-sensitive (for example, something like a loud noise nuisance), this is still the best thing to do.

After the Security team attends an incident, the officers file a formal report detailing what happened, and this report is sent to the Conduct Team. It can then be used in a formal disciplinary investigation.

For residents of Allen Court, if you require immediate assistance, or have any safety or welfare concerns, please call the Allen Court Security Services on 07506765008 or 07956039749 in the case of an emergency.

For residents of St Vincent's Place, if you require immediate assistance, or have any safety or welfare concerns, please call the St Vincent’s Place Emergency Assistance Line on 0300 3031611 in the case of an emergency.

Reporting an incident via Report and Support after it’s happened

For specific kinds of incidents, you can report using Report and Support, an independent reporting platform. This includes harassment, abuse, bullying, or sexual violence, or any unacceptable behaviour that you think could be motivated by discrimination - whether it’s related to race, religion, gender, sexuality, disability or any other protected characteristics. The site allows you to fill out a form explaining your concerns about what happened, and also to access support. Even if the incident wasn’t directed at you yourself, you can still report it as a witness. The completed form will trigger follow-up contact from support staff, allowing you to access a range of support options to help you to decide whether you want to take the issue any further. A Report and Support form can’t be used by itself to take formal disciplinary action, but it can be a useful starting point to help you figure out what you want to do. 

Report and Support is a good way to report incidents like: racist jokes in a group chat; sexist comments within your social circles; bullying that might be related to sex or gender; or any other kind of discrimination or harassment. 

Reporting an incident to your Residence Life Mentor (RLM) after it’s happened

Your mentor is your first point of contact in residences, and a good person to talk things over with. If an incident has already happened and you’re not sure whether you want to report it formally, ask to have a chat with your mentor, and they can help you understand your options. Bear in mind, though, that although they can signpost you to other services, and may pass on information you give them informally, your mentor is there to support you. Telling them about an issue isn’t making a formal report, and it won’t be used as part of a formal disciplinary process. Telling a mentor about an incident may help you access informal resolution options; for example, to arrange a flat meeting to talk through whole-flat issues. It might also help you decide whether or not to make a formal report. 

Reporting an incident, or several incidents, in a witness statement, after the event(s)

There may be times when you can’t report an incident while it’s happening, but you want to report it afterwards. A witness statement is a way to do this. It’s a formal document written detailing an incident, or number of connected incidents. It says what happened, who was involved, and how the incident(s) affected you. It can be used to start or support a formal disciplinary investigation.

One potential downside of a witness statement is that it can't be written anonymously. Witness statements can be used in evidence if the case progresses to a disciplinary meeting. In those circumstances, a copy of your statement must be shared with the student(s) named in your account as being responsible for alleged misconduct. There are, however, alternative options to a disciplinary meeting such as an investigatory meeting (which are used to find out whether any disciplinary action needs to be taken) or informal concern meetings. In those situations, the witness statement will not be shared directly, and only a brief summary will be provided to the reported party or parties.

Witness statements are often used to formally report things that can’t be evidenced in another way, including issues like: bullying; a pattern of incidents over time; any serious incidents which could not be reported to Security while they were happening; or any incident where the emotional impact should be taken into consideration. If you’re considering writing a statement, find out more in our article about witness statements.

When you make a formal report, it’s sent to the ACS Conduct Team. We’ll review it, and check other records to see whether we already know about the incident, or anything else that could be connected to it. If we need extra information, or if action can’t be taken at this stage, we’ll let you know. If the information we have is enough, we’ll start an investigation following the normal ACS disciplinary process. It’s important to note that this process is private to the reported individual. This means that the Conduct Team can’t tell you what happens after this point. If there are any other incidents, you can just report them in the same way, and they’ll be investigated as well.