Cell Phones Used More Than Blue Light Phones

In the age of technology, emergency blue light phones have become a comfort but not necessarily a necessity.

Stephen Hinkle, Texas Tech University Police Department captain and public information officer, said in today’s age, in which everyone has a cellphone, the emergency blue light phones on campus are becoming obsolete.

There are 104 emergency phones, inside and out, located around campus/ Photo by Kaitlin Thogmartin

There are 104 emergency phones, inside and out, located around campus/ Photo by Kaitlin Thogmartin

“A lot of the call we refer to as ‘blue phone hang ups,'” Hinkle said. “Someone will walk by, press the button and walk off. We send an officer regardless because it could be that somebody is being followed, and they don’t want to stop at a blue phone and wait for somebody to show up. So, regardless, we send an officer to that location, and if they don’t see anybody at that blue phone location, they search the area.”

According to the Texas Tech Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics, crime has decreased in the last three years.

“I wouldn’t say crime has gone down,” Hinkle said. “I would say certain types of crime have gone down.”

Charles Leatherwood, a Texas Tech grounds project manager, said the system began to be installed back in the 1980s, and many universities are using this system.

“Back when cellphones started, we asked if they were necessary,” Leatherwood said, “but at least with these if you’re running and you push the button, the police department knows where you’re at or if you drop you’re phone, these are there. When you hit that button, they know where that phone is activated at.”

Charles Leatherwood / Photo by Kaitlin Thogmartin

Charles Leatherwood / Photo by Kaitlin Thogmartin

Leatherwood said there are plans to install six to eight more blue lights around campus — in places such as at the new turf recreation fields, near the Gordon, Bledsoe and Sneed residence halls, and around the human sciences building.

“We’ve got four to six funded, and we are trying to get money for two more,” Leatherwood said. “The phone itself, the unit, is a little over $3,000. Then you have to get power to it, wherever the closest source it to bring that to it. So, it adds up.”

According to the Texas Tech Police Department website, there are 104 blue light phones on campus, with 55 inside and 49 outside. The website has a map of where these are located.

Estimating a base cost of $3,000 per unit — as provided by Leatherwood — the university apparently invested $312,000 on these 104 units — without accounting for the money spent on power to run the blue phones.

Other universities in Texas have also utilized the emergency phone method.

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Hinkle said the phones are checked weekly by Tech police.

“They’re checked every week,” Hinkle said. “There are 103 blue phones on the campus, and we have our guards check them every week. They’re called every week because they go straight to our dispatchers, kind of like a 911 call.”

Hinkle said the guards check for exposed wires, the lights work, and the call goes through.

“Once somebody pushes that button,” Hinkle said “it goes straight to our dispatchers, and it rings on a regular telephone up in our dispatch center. Somebody answers it and sees if there is someone on the other end. And, if they’re not, they dispatch an officer to the area to check it. If there is someone, they talk to them, and they dispatch an officer to respond accordingly. It could be there was an accident or someone is following them, so it just really depends on the situation.”

When the emergency button is pushed at night, the blue light on top begins flashing/ Photo by Kaitlin Thogmartin

When the emergency button is pushed at night, the blue light on top begins flashing/ Photo by Kaitlin Thogmartin

Hinkle said if a student does call 911 on campus, Lubbock police will transfer the call to Texas Tech police.

“If we do get an actual call on those things,” Hinkle said, “it’s usually the outside ones, and to even say that they’re used that much is an overstatement. People don’t usually touch those things because they have their cell phones; they’ll call 911, and it’ll go to us.”

He said he does not believe blue light phones will ever be taken off of campus.

“But, for campus security, peace of mind, I don’t think they’ll go away,” Hinkle said.

See also: Different Forms of Tech Safety Concerns

About Kaitlin Thogmartin

Kaitlin Thogmartin is a senior Environment and Humanities major, Journalism minor from San Antonio. She hopes to become an environmental reporter.