As police chief, I want to keep you informed about personal safety and the various programs we have on campus to reduce crime. You鈥檝e probably seen some of the 80 emergency 鈥渂lue light鈥� phones spread throughout campus. These phones were first installed in 1995, back when pagers were cutting-edge communications technology and very few people carried cell phones. Obviously, our technologies have improved since then, and the vast majority of 911 calls made on the CU-Boulder campus today come from cell phones.
We received 235 calls from the 鈥渂lue light鈥� phones over the past two years. Of those calls, 91 percent were pranks or hang-ups. That leaves just a handful of legitimate calls, which requested help for minor crimes, liquor law violations, facility maintenance and open-door assistance. During that same two-year timeframe, CUPD received more than 2,700 emergency calls via mobile phones.
You may recall that in 2011, the after it received no legitimate calls over a two-year period.
The 鈥渂lue light鈥� phones were a great technology 20 years ago, but they are becoming more outdated every year as mobile technology expands.
Therefore, the Police Department and campus leaders 鈥� with the support of CU Student Government 鈥� have decided to soon remove a small number of phones. We have strategically selected five phones for removal that are either near other phones, inoperable or have never been used for emergency calls in recent years. We鈥檒l use parts from these removed phones to fix and improve other phones in more prominent locations.
We鈥檒l continue to monitor trends in the use of the 鈥渂lue light鈥� phones and determine whether it makes sense to remove more or all of these phones in the future. We know that, although rarely used, there are times when an emergency phone can be useful in preventing or responding to crime. But cell phones have really become the primary tool to notify law enforcement of dangerous situations. Due to this, our goal is to transition safety and calls for help effectively to cell phones.
Collaborating with CUSG, the Police Department and other campus departments are working on a consolidated campus safety resources app. While this app is still in the design phase, some program ideas include tabs for reporting non-urgent crimes (i.e. thefts), a GPS 鈥渇riend tracker鈥� that your friends can turn on and off, a and quick links to resources for mental health needs, victim assistance and Title IX reporting. This app is just one of many collaborative crime prevention efforts we have across campus 鈥� such as increasing the lighting in key areas and encouraging . We will keep you posted on the app and programs in future editions of CU-Boulder Today.
Sincerely,
Melissa Zak
Chief of Police, CU-Boulder