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Emergency callboxes add to campus security
April 1, 2003 | |||||
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KOKOMO, Ind.—Eight emergency callboxes, attached to lampposts in the parking lots of IU Kokomo, were activated on March 24. Pushing the button on the front of a callbox activates two-way radio contact with the campus security office. Between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., Kokomo Police Department 911 dispatchers will answer calls from the boxes and send officers to the scene, if needed. Color-coded maps in both the security office and the police department will indicate which box has been activated and its location. When a callbox button is pushed, a blue strobe light will flash above the callbox, further signaling the site of the emergency. The radio signal and the strobe light will continue to operate until reset by security officers. Integrity Communications and Electronics, L.L.C., of Kokomo installed the Call24 Wireless Callbox system, the first of its kind in this area, according to Integrity president Anthony Johnson. Johnson said that he and Director of Campus Security Rick Wolf spent four years in planning the emergency system and bringing it to the campus. Wolf praised Chancellor Ruth Person and Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Bill Yost for their support in securing funding and facilitating the system’s development. “I want students, faculty, and staff to feel safe when they come on campus,” said Wolf. “I want them to know that, with the callboxes, there’s someplace they can go for help” in an emergency. The callboxes are located about four feet off the ground, in order to be handicapped accessible, Wolf said. Their use is simple, he added. Instructions printed on the front of the red, white and blue callboxes direct persons who need help to 1) Push the button to talk. (A green light indicates that the call has been sent.) 2) Wait for the red light. (This means the call has been received.) 3) Push and hold the button to talk. 4) Release the button to listen to security instruction. Wolf became IU Kokomo’s only full-time security officer 10 years ago, after serving 20 years as a Marion, Ind., police officer. He is the primary responder to campus emergencies during the day. Five off-duty Kokomo police officers split an additional 40-hour schedule to cover the campus during evenings and weekends. Having “professional officers” serve IU Kokomo is a plus, Wolf said. “I can’t think of any emergency response that they’re not trained to handle,” he said. The callboxes are just the latest technology Wolf has employed to heighten campus security. He and his deputies carry weather beepers, which transmit civil defense warnings about tornados and other severe weather conditions. Wolf has installed special mobile security phones in high traffic areas of campus—the library, bookstore, and the offices of Continuing Studies—by which university staff can contact Wolf without going through normal phone system routing.
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