Emergency telephones remain part of CU campus safety

CU will keep its campus emergency “blue light” telephones despite rumored plans for their removal.

Last year, the City of Boulder removed five emergency telephones from the Hill. However, the CU Police Department said that there are no plans for removing the remaining 60 emergency telephones in scattered locations around campus.

Freshman Spanish major Cameron Lees walks past an Emergency Phone next to Arnett Hall. Despite removal rumors, CUPD says the phones are valuable assets to campus security. (CU Independent/James Bradbury)

Ryan Huff, communications manager for the CUPD, said that although the emergency telephones are predominantly used for prank calls and are in need of repair, they are valuable assets to campus safety.

“The technology has been around for a little while, so we’re seeing some wear and tear on them,” Huff said. “It’s definitely a priority for us to get phones that aren’t working up and running.”

The advantage of these emergency telephones is that they operate on landline connections, connect to the City of Boulder’s powergrid, direct calls straight to CUPD, and pinpoint the caller’s exact location.

These emergency telephones are more efficient than cellphones, which are inferior in response time, can drop calls, and run out of battery, Huff said. Even if an individual with an emergency calls 911, the Boulder Police dispatcher then has to reroute the call to CUPD.

According to the CUPD & Emergency Management website, the emergency telephones may be used for crimes in progress, suspicious persons, medical emergencies and concerns about personal safety.

Huff said that between five and 10 percent of calls made from the emergency telephones are for legitimate concerns and crises, from someone getting keys locked in a car to someone in need of emergency assistance.

“They’re a good tool for us,” Huff said, “Truth be told, the large majority are pranks.”

Meaghan Langley, a sophomore chemical engineering major, lives at the Alpha Chi Omega sorority house on the corner of 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, a block on the Hill where two emergency lights used to stand before the City of Boulder removed them in 2011.

Langley said she is disappointed that another safety feature was not implemented in the place of the removed emergency telephones.

“The Hill is dangerous and scary,” Langley said.

Katie Mallon, a sophomore in sociology and Alpha Chi Omega sister, said that she would like to see more security around campus and on the Hill.

“It feels like there’s an email about a mugging or assault from the CUPD so often,” Mallon said.

The emergency telephones still deterred crime, Mallon said, even though they were used mostly in pranks.

Huff said that the campus’ recent heightened awareness of crime might be caused by the CUPD’s efforts to improve their communications, but not necessarily to respond to a rise in crime. Another factor may be the unusually low levels of crime experienced in 2010.

CU’s record of crimes such as forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault and burglary were higher in 2011 than in 2010, but relatively average in the levels of violent crime going back to 2006, Huff said.

For more safety tips and information on the emergency telephone system, visit the CUPD & Emergency Management website at http://police.colorado.edu/crime-prevention-and-safety.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Stephen Kasica at Stephen.kasica@colorado.edu.