Micromemphis: University District The Neighborhoods of the University of Memphis
  • Home
  • About
    • University District in the News
    • University District Website
    • University District Map
    • MicroMemphis Team
  • News
  • Business
  • Religion
  • Food
  • Community
  • Campus
  • Multimedia
    • Slideshows
    • Video

U of M installing more Code Blue phones despite dated technology

4/18/2014

0 Comments

 
By Leah Beth Bolton 

The University of Memphis is improving safety by installing more Code Blue phones around campus.

Bruce Harber, director of public safety and Police Services, said that the university has continued to add phones to decrease crime on campus and to ensure that students feel safe while commuting to and from school.

“When I came here from the Memphis Police Department, I thought if we had great crime numbers that are low, everything would be great, but that’s only half the battle,” Harber said. “The other part is making sure people feel safe, so the phones help with that.”

Harber added that there are currently 42 phones spread out across campus, but the school will continue to add them each year, as long as proper funding is provided.

“They are expensive. They run around $10,000 to $15,000 a piece,” he said.

Read More
0 Comments

Students concerned over Tiger Text alerts on crime

4/2/2014

0 Comments

 
By Leah Beth Bolton 

Students and residents who live in the surrounding areas of the University of Memphis are concerned about what warrants a Tiger Text.

The U of M's emergency alert text messaging system, which was put in place in 2007 following the Virginia Tech Massacre, is used to keep students abreast of their safety on campus. However, for many students, it’s been unclear exactly what Police Services deems as necessary to report.

“We tell parents and students, especially at orientation, that we don’t use Tiger Text for anything other than what we think is an ongoing threat to our campus community. That includes students, faculty and staff—not just students,” said Bruce Harber, the director of Public Safety and Police Services.

He added that many people want to use the system for news updates. 

“There’s a tendency for people to want us to use it as a news service,” Harber said. “If something is going on, they want to know about it, and that’s not what it’s designed for. We want to be very cautious when we use it. We don’t want to overuse it so it loses its impact.”
Picture
Harber explained that Police Services uses the Timely Warning of Reported Crimes policy. 

According to that policy, the U of M must report crimes to students when two conditions are met. First, the crime must be listed as “arson, aggravated assault, criminal homicide, robbery, sex offense, or any crime determined to be a hate crime is reported to the University Police (UMPD) or other campus security authorities.” Secondly, the crime must be considered “by the University to represent a continuing threat to students or employees.”

In the past, however, not all crimes have been reported to students, which has been a hot topic for the University’s newspaper.

In 2012, a registered sex offender was arrested for allegedly raping a woman on campus. The offense was not immediately entered into the campus’ incident log, which is required by the Clery Act, and students were not alerted until The Daily Helmsman reported on the crime.

Harber later responded to the incident, telling the Helmsman that it was not reported via Tiger Text because it was not viewed as an ongoing threat to the campus after his arrest.

Despite the University’s clear policies on when they will alert students with a text message, many students claim they would feel safer knowing about more crime.

U of M junior Josh Tucker, who lives a block from campus, said he's enrolled in the service and relies on it for his safety at home as well as on campus.

 "In a way, Tiger Text has helped me feel safer," Tucker said. "But a lot of time it just reminds me that I don't live in a safe area. However, it is a useful tool."
0 Comments

Director of Public Safety, Bruce Harber: Campus crime down over 10 percent

3/24/2014

0 Comments

 
PicturePhoto Credit: U of M
By Leah Beth Bolton 

Ask any of the students at the University of Memphis who Bruce Harber is and they’re guaranteed to answer, but many have been unable to put a face to the name.

As Director of Police Services and Public Safety at the U of M, Harber is most known for his direct electronic contact with the student body, faculty and staff, whether it be for a safety concern or weather alert.

Harber’s responsibilities vary on campus, but he is widely known for being the “man behind the Tiger Texts,” the U of M’s emergency alert text messaging system, which he helped develop for the school in 2007.

His goal is to eliminate crime on campus and keep students up to date on safety. 

“Here on campus we’re down over 10 percent. Surrounding areas are down 4.8 percent. The entire area is down 13.7 percent as a whole,” Harber said.

He added that new research has shown crime in the school’s parking lots on vehicles has gone down almost 75 percent in his 14 years on campus, which he credits to more of a police presence.

“When you consider that we have 10,000 parking spaces, which turn over a time and a half a day, our officers have done a tremendous job of keeping our students safe,” Harber said.

Harber, who moved to Memphis in the ninth grade, had an interest in public safety early on. He joined the Memphis Police Department’s cadet program right out of high school, which led him to seek a degree in the subject. He continued with the part-time program for two years while seeking his degree at the U of M.

He graduated from college in 1991 with a Bachelor of Professional Studies in police administration.

Harber worked for the Memphis Police Department for 25 years before beginning his work at the University in 2000 as the assistant director of Police Services. In January 2002, he was appointed as the new director of Police Services.

On top of his responsibilities on campus, Harber is studying for his master’s degree, which he hopes to finish by the end of the year.

0 Comments
    Tweets by @UDistrictMicro

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013

    Categories

    All
    Arts
    Audio
    Black History
    Black Owned Business
    Blue Tom Records
    Botanic Garden
    Brittany Carruthers
    Bruce Harber
    Bryan Heater
    Business
    Campus
    Caray Oldham
    Carlissa Robinson
    Carrie Sanders
    Charity
    Chings
    City Council
    Civil Rights Movement
    Community
    Cormac Parker
    Crime
    Dana Porter
    Education
    Empress And Emperor Mentoring
    Entertainment
    Erica Hartsfield
    Events
    Fashion
    Feature
    Fitness
    Food
    Green
    Gsrm
    Health
    Highland
    Housing
    Innovation
    Instagram
    Jerald Harris
    Jj Greer
    John Martin
    Kathy Brower
    Local
    Lovie Hudson
    Maps
    Master Plan
    Memphis
    Mentoring
    Michelle Corbet
    Millennials
    Multimedia
    Music
    News
    Non-profit
    Normal Station
    Park Ave.
    Park Avenue
    Patterson
    Politics
    Poplar
    Preview
    Profile
    Public Safety
    Raleigh Egypt
    Raven Mcclain
    Recruitment
    Religion
    Sex
    Slideshow
    Social-media
    Southern
    Sports
    St-jude
    Transportation
    Udistrict History
    University Of Memphis
    Urban Garden
    Video
    Walker Avenue