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.
Harber noted that the phones are viewed as a dated means of safety, but explained that they have a different purpose.

“They really are outdated, redundant technology now because we can pick up a cell phone. They were really big when they started being installed in the '70s and '80s before mobile phones existed,” he said. “What we’ve done to eliminate part of the redundancy is update the technology. The new ones now have cameras on the top of them."

"We use a lot of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design techniques," he added. “An area where you feel safer, a criminal opportunist feels more at risk. If you feel good, the emergency phones are lit and the blue lights are visible, a criminal is not as likely to commit the crime.”

Dereck Bridgewater, a senior theatre major, said the phones are dated and unreliable. 

"The blue phones on campus are not dependable. It takes forever for someone to actually reach an operator. There needs to be a quicker and more efficient way for the school to monitor the safety of students," Bridgewater said. "More security guards in certain areas of the school at night would help." 

Harber said the phones aren’t used frequently. The last time one was utilized was for a medical emergency.

“It was helpful for the dispatcher to see the woman through the camera and assist her better,” Harber added.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    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