Report Suspicious Activity: Your Guide to Blowing the Whistle

Reports may be made anonymously or with identification in the following ways:

UCSC accepts and investigates allegations of improper governmental activities by UCSC employees or where UCSC is potentially a victim of wrongdoing.

Because we do not undertake investigations without adequate cause, we need as much evidence as possible to corroborate the allegation(s) such as documents, witnesses, and other specific and relevant information. Investigating improper governmental activities is more difficult if complaints are filed anonymously because of the difficulty of obtaining evidence to corroborate the alleged improper activity before we begin an investigation. If you choose to file your complaint anonymously, be sure to provide specific and relevant information including the first and last names of any individuals mentioned, their contact information, and the location address at which the improper activity occurred.


Thinking of filing a report?

Please read Important Information About Filing Whistleblower Reports


Important information to include in your report:

  • Who is involved?
  • If outside businesses or contractors are involved, what are the names of the businesses, who owns them, and where are they located? Who else knows about the improper activities?
  • Who can and would confirm that they occurred?
  • How can we reach these witnesses?
  • What specifically did the suspect do? What is wrong with it? Are there laws or regulations that govern what the suspect did?
  • What kinds of documents would provide evidence of the improper activities? Where are the documents located? Who controls them?
  • Which division, unit, or campus location did the action happen?
  • When did the improper activity occur?
  • Is it ongoing? How frequently has it occurred?
  • What are the suspect(s) motives? For example, how does the suspect benefit? If others benefit from the activities, who are they and how do they benefit?
  • How did the wrongdoing occur?
  • Was there a lack of controls, circumvention of controls, or collusion with other individuals?