School Introduction
Alliance Computing Solutions (ACS) is among one of the leading providers of computer and vocational training schools in the New York City. The school was founded in 1998 by a group of highly experienced experts in the IT industry. ACS provides a wide range of courses, beginning with an introduction to computers to the highest level of certifications in the industry. Our curricula are nationally approved and recognized as being up-to-date and highly competitive. In addition to having a very competitive program, ACS also prides in the high quality of certified instructors we employ. The instructors range from full-time instructors to senior level experts in their fields. We are conveniently located at 36-60 Main Street, Flushing, NY 11354 and 545 8th Avenue, Suite 1210, New York, NY 10018.
What is Clery Act or Campus Security Act?
On April 5, 1986, Jeanne Clery was raped and murdered in her dorm room at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. After her parents learned that her death was due to negligent practices of security at the college after numerous reports were made regarding safety, it spurred The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act which was implemented in 1990. The Act was further amended in 2013 to include the Violence Against Women Act also known as VAWA. These acts require all colleges and universities who receive federal funding to disclose information regarding crime on campus, support for victims or witnesses of crimes, and prevention programs designed to assist victims or witnesses of these crimes as well as efforts to improve campus safety and inform the institutions, students, employees, faculty, staff and the public of crime in or around the institution. The information will be made available annually with the latest crime statistics reported to the institution or law enforcement agencies in the area. Institutions are required to report their crime statistics, campus security/law enforcement policies, and reporting procedures to the U.S. Department of Education and the campus community annually.
Crime Reporting Procedures
ACS does not have a security or law enforcement personnel and no memorandum of understanding or written agreement with any law enforcement agency. Crimes of students, faculty, staff or any others should be immediately reported to the administrative office, the administration will then in turn expeditiously report to the New York City Police Department as necessary to address any emergency or criminal situation that may arise on campus or anywhere in the vicinity of the institutions geographic reporting area. Students, faculty, and staff who want to keep their reports confidential can call the any of the two precincts listed below which has jurisdiction over the institution.
Queens
109th Precinct
37-05 Union Street
Flushing, NY 11354
718-321-2250
Manhattan
NYC #14
357 West 35th Street
Midtown South
New York, NY 10001
212-239-9811
Timely Warning
ACS will provide a timely warning to the campus community of any known occurrences of crimes in the immediate campus vicinity that are reported to campus officials and are considered to represent a serious or continuing threat to students or employees. If ACS is aware of such a crime or pattern or criminal activity, unless issuing a notification will compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to or otherwise mitigate the emergency, ACS will initiate our emergency outreach system through our email system. Students are encouraged to have an updated email address that they check regularly.
Depending on the circumstances of the crime, ACS may also post a notice on the college’s website www.acs.edu, providing the college community with more immediate action. A copy of the notice will also be posted outside on the front door of the entry to the college.
Annual Disclosure of Crime Statistics
ACS is required to comply with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security and Policy and Crime Statistics Act. The full text of this report can be located in ACS’s administrative offices and at www.acs.edu. This report is prepared in cooperation with the local law enforcement agencies which for Alliance Computing Solutions will be the 109th Precinct located in Flushing, NY, and Midtown South Precinct located in 357 West 35th Street in New York, NY.
Campus crime and arrest statistics included are those reported to the NYPD, designated campus officials (including the CEO, Directors, FAA, Office Manager, Proctor, and staff) and local law enforcement agencies.
Each year, an email notification will be made to all enrolled students and staff containing this report will also be available on ACS’s website. This Annual Security Report will be available in the administrative office at ACS in hardcopy as well upon request or by calling 718-661-9771.
Campus Security Authorities for Alliance Computing Solutions
ACS Flushing:
Chief Executive Officer – Lawrence Ding 718-661-9771 ext. 108
School Director – Lawrence Ding 718-661-9771 ext. 108
Financial Aid Administrator – Maurice Rebeiro 718-661-9771 ext. 105
Student Services – Rosemary Diwa 718-661-9771 ext. 101
Administrative Assistant – Sophie Gu 718-661-9771 ext. 104
ACS Manhattan:
Chief Executive Officer – Lawrence Ding 718-661-9771 ext. 108
School Director – Freddie Crespo 212-868-5990 ext. 202
Financial Aid Administrator – Maurice Rebeiro 212-868-5990 ext. 205
Student Services – David Jenkins 212-868-9771 ext. 203
ACS encourages anyone who is a victim or witness to any crime to immediately report the crime to the New York Police Department’s 109th Precinct and Midtown South Precinct. Because police reports are public records, ACS cannot hold reports of crimes in confidence. Confidential reports for purposes of inclusion in the annual disclosure of crime statistics can be made to any campus authorities listed above and will be anonymous for reporting purposes.
Security and access to campus facilities
ACS Flushing Campus is located at 36-60 Main Street 4th Floor, Flushing, NY 11354. During normal business hours, the college will be open to all students, parents, employees, contractors, guests, and invitees. There is an elevator located at the Main entrance which is on 37th Avenue. All guests are required to sign in using a laptop for testing and a sign in sheet for regular students that is located at the front desk reception area of ACS Flushing Campus on the 4th floor. Employees sign in using a fingerprinting time clock which is also located at the front reception desk at entry.
Another campus is located at 545 Eighth Avenue, Suite 1210, New York, NY 10018. During normal business hours, the college will be open to all students, parents, employees, contractors, guests, and invitees. All guests are required to sign in using a laptop for testing and a sign in sheet for regular students that is located at the front desk reception area of ACS Manhattan Campus. Employees sign in using a fingerprinting time clock which is also located at the front reception desk at entry.
There is no residential housing at ACS. Over extended breaks, only designated school officials or other assigned staff or administrators as needed, will only have access to either Flushing Campus or Manhattan Campus and classroom areas. A key is used to turn off the elevator from reaching the Flushing Campus 4th floor unless it’s normal business hours. If an emergency arises, it may cause changes or alterations to any posted schedule. If an area, such as the bathroom lighting, alarms, or communication such as a server issue are reported that may interrupt effective communication outreach, it will be surveyed and we will contact the appropriate person/company to have the problem resolved as quickly as possible.
Current Policies concerning law enforcement
ACS does not have campus security personnel. The building is privately owned. Neither the CEO, faculty, nor staff has the authority to make arrests. Personnel can ask for identification to determine if individuals have lawful business at the college. Criminal incidents are referred to the NYPD. All crime victims and witnesses are strongly encouraged to immediately report the crime to the Director or any administration and the appropriate police agency. Prompt reporting will assure timely warning notices and timely disclosure of crime statistics.
ACS Flushing is building a relationship with the 109th Precinct’s crime statistics unit in the Flushing area. The 109th Precinct provided us with Crime Statistics for our geographic reporting area and will work with us in the future for crime reporting and statistics in or around the campus area. We do not have a written memorandum with the local 109th Precinct. ACS Manhattan is building a relationship with the Midtown Precinct South’s crime statistics unit in the Manhattan midtown area. The Midtown Precinct provided us with the Crime Statistics for out geographic reporting area and will work with us in the future for crime reporting and statistics in or around the campus area. We do not have a written memorandum with the local Midtown Precinct South.
Community members, students, faculty, staff, and guests are encouraged to report all crimes and public safety related incidents to the institute’s officials in a timely manner. This publication focuses on our administrative directors and staff because they are the first point of contact if any incidence occurs on campus. In case, absence or confidentiality, call 911.
To report a crime or an emergency on the Flushing campus, call the institute at 718-661-9771 ext. 101. To report a non- emergency security or public safety related matter, call the directors or 311.
To report a crime or an emergency on the Manhattan campus, call the institute at 212-239-9811 ext 202. To report a non- emergency security or public safety related matter, call the directors or 311.
All reports will be investigated. The college does not have procedures for voluntary confidential reporting of crime statistics. Violations of the law will be referred local law enforcement agencies when appropriate to the CEO and directors. When a potentially dangerous threat to the college community arises, timely reports or warnings will be issued through the email announcements, the posting of flyers on the front door of the entrances, in-class announcements, on ACS’s website or other appropriate means.
Public Safety Awareness & Crime Prevention Programs
In September every year ACS will present videos and slide presentations to outline ways to maintain personal safety in or around the college. NYPD’s Crime Prevention programs will be presented to all ACS students. Students will be told about crime on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods. Similar information will be presented to new employees of ACS.
In addition to presentations and videos, information such as crime prevention awareness packets, displays, articles, and other material will be made available and distributed to students.
ACS is concerned about the safety of its students and employees. A common theme of all awareness and crime prevention programs is to encourage students and employees to be aware of their responsibility for their own personal security as well as the security of others.
Regarding sexual assaults, using sound judgment and good sense practices will reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim. Remember to remain aware of your surroundings. Do not walk alone outdoors at night, do not enter areas of the building that you are not authorized to use, and do not enter any secluded location. If you feel uncomfortable, it might not be a good idea.
Various crime prevention programs will be sponsored by ACS during the academic year. An example of the type of information that will be made available will come from sources that are dedicated to crime prevention such as The New York State Office of the Attorney General. They have programs that keep us aware the rights of victims of crime and abuse.
The Attorney General office works with each Bureau to educate citizens about their rights, develop policy and legislation, provide crime prevention programs, connect citizens with community resources, and work with other agencies and victims service providers statewide to ensure that our work is informed by the concerns of crime victims. website can be located at: http://www.ag.ny.gov/intergov-affairs/victim-rights
The institution does not provide any law enforcement services to off-campus activities. Criminal activity off campus is monitored by the NYPD. ACS members will work closely with NYPD when violations of federal, state, or local laws arise.
Campus Security Authorities for Alliance Computing Solutions
Drug and Alcohol Use
The use and/or sale of drugs and alcohol is strictly prohibited at ACS. We are “Drug Free” and do not permit the consumption of alcohol. The possession, sale, manufacture, or distribution of any controlled substance is illegal under both state and federal laws. Such laws are strictly enforced by ACS and NYPD. Violators are subject to college disciplinary action, criminal prosecution, and fines and/or imprisonment.
It is unlawful to sell, furnish or provide alcohol to a person under the age of 21. The possession of alcohol by anyone under 21 years of age in a public place or a place open to the public is illegal.
Alcohol and Substance Abuse Programs
The New York State Alcohol and Substance Abuse Service (OASAS) through the New York State Departments of Health is the designated single state agency that is responsible for the coordination of state-federal relations in the area of addiction services. They have more than 1,550 programs based in schools and communities. OASAS main New York office and some of the treatment programs they provide are listed below:
New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
New York City Office
501 7th Avenue
New York, NY 10018-5903
518-473-3460
NYS College Prevention Program: Substance and Alcohol abuse, Gambling Prevention, Early intervention programs.
Alcohol Awareness Program (AAP) – governed by OASAS under Section 19.25 of the Mental Hygiene Law. Providing early intervention of youth referred to them by courts, family members, or other agencies.
Some other Substance and Alcohol abuse Treatment Programs can be found at:
Queens Hospital Center
82-68 164th Street
Jamaica, NY 11432
718-883-3000
Samaritan Village, Inc. 138-02 Queens Blvd.
Briarwood, NY 11435
718-847-9233
Emergency Response
Alliance Computing Solutions includes information about who to contact for campus incidents, incident priorities and performance expectations; shelter-in-place and evacuation guidelines; and local contingency and continuity planning requirements. ACS management team along are responsible for developing contingency plans and continuity of operations plans for their staff and areas of responsibility. ACS will conduct an emergency response exercise each year, such as table top exercises, field exercises, and tests of the emergency notification systems on campus. These tests are designed to assess and evaluate the emergency plans and capabilities of the institution.
ACS Directors, faculty and staff will receive training in Incident Command and Responding to Critical Incidents on Campus. When a serious incident occurs that causes an immediate threat to the campus, the first responders to the scene are usually the NYPD and New York City Fire and Emergency Medical Services (FDNY) Department, and they typically respond and work together to manage the incident. Depending on the nature of the incident, other ACS departments and other local or federal agencies could also be involved in responding to the incident.
All members of the ACS community will be notified on an annual basis that they are required to notify the NYPD of any situation or incident on campus that involves a significant emergency or dangerous situation that may involve an immediate or ongoing threat to the health and safety of students and/or employees on campus.
NYPD has the responsibility of responding to, and summoning the necessary resources, to mitigate, investigate, and document any situation that may cause a significant emergency or dangerous situation. In addition, the New York City Police Department has a responsibility to respond to such incidents to determine if the situation does in fact, pose a threat to the community. If that is the case, Federal Law requires that the institution immediately notify the campus community or the appropriate segments of the community that may be affected by the situation.
Evacuation
An evacuation drill will be coordinated by ACS once per year in conjunction with NYPD and the FDNY. Thus, the emergency response and evacuation procedures will be tested once each year. Students will learn the locations of the emergency exits in the buildings and will be provided guidance about the direction they should travel when exiting each facility for a short-term building evacuation.
As for now, it is suggested to not use the elevator if an emergency evacuation is necessary. There is one staircase with a clearly labeled “exit” sign for exit to the outside of the building.
The purpose of evacuation drills is to prepare building occupants for an organized evacuation in case of an emergency. At ACS, evacuation drills will be used as a way to educate and train occupants on issues specific to their building. During the drill, occupants will ‘practice’ drill procedures and familiarize themselves with the location of exits and the sound of the fire alarm. In addition to educating the occupants of each building about the evacuation procedures during the drills, the process also provides the school an opportunity to test the operation of fire alarm system components.
Students will receive information about evacuation and shelter-in-place procedures during their first 450 hours and during other educational sessions that they can participate in throughout the year. The House Staff members will be trained in these procedures.
We will conduct numerous announced and unannounced drills and exercises each year and conduct follow-through activities designed for assessment and evaluation of emergency plans and capabilities. ACS will publish a summary of its emergency response and evacuation procedures in conjunction with at least one drill or exercise each calendar year.
Notification to the ACS Community about an Immediate Threat
The Directors and some staff receive information from various offices/departments, such as the NYPD. If ACS directors confirms that there is an emergency or dangerous situation that poses an immediate threat to the health or safety of some or all members of the ACS Community, ACS Directors will collaborate to determine the content of the message and will use some or all of the systems described below to communicate the threat to the ACS Community or to the appropriate segment of the community, if the threat is limited to a particular building or segment of the population. ACS will, without delay and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system, unless issuing a notification will, in the judgment of the first responders (including, but not limited to: NYPD and/or the FDNY, compromise the efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.
In the event of a serious incident that poses an immediate threat to members of the ACS community, the school has various systems in place for communicating information quickly. Some or all of these methods of communication may be activated in the event of an immediate threat to the ACS campus community. These methods of communication include network emails, emergency text messages, updates on the ACS’s web site at https://acs.edu and also post flyers on all entrances to ACS.
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
On March 7, 2013 President Obama signed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 which amended The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus and Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1965. Institutions of higher education are required to report campus crimes.
ACS prohibits all sexual offenses at the institution or anywhere in its immediate geographic reporting area. Sexual offenses include but are not limited to dating violence, sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking. Sexual contact should always be consensual.
Consent – The Department of Education defines sexual consent as follows: “the affirmative, unambiguous, and voluntary agreement to engage in a specific sexual activity during a sexual encounter.” Under this definition, an individual who was asleep, or mentally or physically incapacitated, either through the effect of drugs or alcohol or for any other reason, or who was under duress, threat, coercion, or force, would not be able to consent. Further, one would not be able to infer consent under circumstances in which consent was not clear, including but not limited to the absence of “no” or “stop,” or the existence of a prior or current relationship or sexual activity.
Rape has a new broader definition that was revised in efforts to protect individuals from certain sexual attacks that once may not have been considered the “forcible rape” definition that we used to know. Under the new definition implemented in 2011 by the Director of the FBI along with conjoined efforts of the FBI’s CJIS Advisory Board (APB), staff from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting unit, input from the US Department of Justice’s “Violence Against Women” and various other law enforcement entities revised the definition of “rape” as “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”
The United States Department of Justice definitions of other types of sexual offenses against women and other individuals regardless of gender or ethnicity:
Dating Violence – Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim is dating violence. The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the following factors: the length of the relationship the type of relationship
The frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship
Domestic Violence – is a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship this is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over the other intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological. It includes behaviors that are specifically intended to intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blames, hurt, injure, or would the partner.
Sexual Assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape.
Stalking is a pattern of repeated and unwanted attention, harassment, contact, or any other course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear.
Stalking can include:
- Repeated, unwanted, intrusive, and frightening communications from the perpetrator by phone, mail, and/or email.
- Repeatedly leaving or sending victim unwanted items, presents, or flowers.
- Following or lying in wait for the victim at places such as home, school, work, or recreation place.
- Making direct or indirect threats to harm the victim, the victim’s children, relatives, friends, or pets.
- Damaging or threatening to damage the victim’s property.
- Harassing victim through the internet.
- Posting information or spreading rumors about the victim on the internet, in a public place, or by word of mouth.
- Obtaining personal information about the victim by accessing public records, using internet search services, hiring private investigators, going through the victim’s garbage, following the victim, contacting victim’s friends, family work, or neighbors, etc.
All institutional employees (including student employees), as well as non-employees with teaching or supervisory authority, are obligated to promptly report sexual misconduct of which they become aware to the NYPD unless they have a recognized confidentiality privilege.
If any member of the ACS community believes that they are a victim or have witnessed a sexual assault. It is up to the victim report the crime or choose not to. If the crime is reported to the institution, names will be kept confidential for inclusion in the institutions crime statistics for the following year. At this time, neither CEO, Directors, faculty nor staff are properly trained in counseling victims of sexual crimes. All sexual offenses should be reported to ACS and will be turned over to NYPD for proper assessment and response.
ACS is committed to helping victims of sexual assault overcome the odds and has researched and will implement many different prevention programs that are geared to battle sexual misconduct and counsel the victims thereof. In the meantime, we are providing some necessary steps in order to help victims of sexual crimes.
Hate Crimes – If a hate crime occurs where there is an incident involving intimidation, vandalism, larceny, simple assault or other bodily injury, the law requires that the statistic be reported as a hate crime even though there is no requirement to report the crime classification in any other area of the compliance document.
A hate or bias-related crime is not a separate, distinct crime, but is the commission of a criminal offense which was motivated by the offender’s bias. For example, a subject assaults a victim, which is a crime. If the facts of the case indicate that the offender was motivated to commit the offense because of his bias against the victim’s race, sexual orientation, etc… the assault is then also classified as a hate/bias crime.
What to do if you are attacked
When calm, write down every detail about the incident, including: who, what, where, when, and how; what the attacker looked like (height, weight, clothing, type of build, color of skin, hair, eyes, facial oddities, scars jewelry, tattoos etc.); description of any vehicle used or the direction you last saw the attacker running; what kind of force or coercion was used; any objects touched, taken, or left by the attacker; if the attacker said anything, try to remember the words, the grammar, any accents or speech defects; and if there were witnesses, list who and where they might be.
Disciplinary Procedure
ACS shall act promptly in response to information that a student has been sexually assaulted by another member of the ACS community. Upon receipt of a complaint, the school will undertake an appropriate investigation. If it appears that there is sufficient evidence to warrant disciplinary charges against a student, such charges shall be brought before the CEO for further handling, the CEO and staff in turn, will recruit and initiate a team for investigation and disciplinary hearing that will be conducted by officials who have at the time received annual training on how to conduct fair investigations and hearings that protect the safety of victims and promote accountability and on issues related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking until ACS’s authorities are properly trained in the matter.
Alliance Computing Solutions will, upon written request, disclose to the alleged victim of a crime of violence, or non-forcible sex offense, the results of any disciplinary hearing conducted by the college against the student who is the alleged perpetrator of the crime or offense. If the alleged victim is deceased as a result of the crime or offense, ACS will provide the results of the disciplinary hearing to the victim’s next of kin, if requested.
Sexual crime preventions programs
Employees of ACS will seek training on how to educate our students on prevention resources and programs geared towards sexual misconduct but we encourage our community to reach out to the New York State Health Departments that have prevention and outreach programs set up for sexual assaults in each of the 5 boroughs of NYC with thousands of programs to help victims of crimes.
New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH)
Rape Crisis and Sexual Violence Prevention Program is to improve societal response to rape, provide supports and services to victims of rape and sexual assault and to promote primary prevention efforts that reduce the incidence of rape, victimization and sexual violence. The Department approaches sexual violence from a public health perspective, recognizing that primary prevention, including efforts to change cultural norms, behaviors and practices, is essential to create a community climate free from sexual violence. Below are some sites that victims can click on and get help related to sexual violence:
National Domestic Violence Hotline
Highly-trained advocates are available 24/7 to talk confidentially with anyone experiencing domestic violence, seeking resources or information, or questioning unhealthy aspects of their relationship. 1799-SAFE (7233)
National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women
This site describes concepts of bystander intervention – “Where Do You Stand?,” a comprehensive bystander intervention campaign for college men. The guide teaches how to use the campaign to positively change the cultural dynamics of a campus.
Responding to Campus Sexual Assault
Campus-based sexual violence prevention programs like those funded by VAWA have been found to increase active bystander behavior – students intervening to stop or prevent a sexual assault.
Below is the list of past 2-years statistics for crimes report for Midtown Precinct South in Manhattan and 109th Precinct in Flushing.
