Campus Watch: Police phones

VCU students, faculty and the immediate community have access to police help in case of emergencies. In all, they have access to seven phones at the Stony Point Facility, 81 on the Medical Center Campus and 171 on the Monroe Park Campus. The yellow telephones can be found in parking decks and attached to the exterior of buildings.

“The primary reason for the police phones are to provide students, faculty and staff a fast and immediate access to the VCU police in emergencies,” said Willie Fuller, university police chief. “The police phones automatically connect to the Emergency Communications Center when the buttons of the phones are pressed.

“No dialing is required and a police dispatcher immediately answers the phone.”

Student safety and facilities maintenance are goals of every university. To monitor and ensure these goals, The Commonwealth Times has decided to become a watchdog for the student body. This is the third installment of the Campus Watch series with reporter Isac Crouch. His responsibilities will include visiting buildings to find where there may be obstacles to security or safety.

Some students, however, said some phones don’t function properly.

For instance, a telephone in the Main Street parking deck failed to work properly when Joseph Bertsche, a forensic science major, needed assistance with a flat tire. Bertsche said the line connected, but the static was too loud to hear the person on the other end.

“The one time I needed assistance, the yellow phone failed,” he said. “If there was a real emergency, there would have been no way for me to contact the police.”

Tiffanie Foster, a junior chemistry major, once attempted to use the yellow phone attached to the Community Police Office situated within Monroe Park.

“We were having a real emergency, and I felt like there wasn’t anyone that could help us,” she said.

Foster, referring to an incident that happened during her freshman year, said she and her friends were walking through the park when a lone man stopped his car, got out and began to strike one of her friends in the face. Foster said she found the closest university police phone and attempted to call for help.

“It took three attempts to get ahold of the police and when we did, the police officer answering the call couldn’t even hear us,” she said. “By the time I actually got ahold of the police using the phone, I could have run home and called from my cell phone.”

Previously this column dealt with a broken handicapped door in the University Student Commons that has now been repaired – thanks to VCU’s facilities management office.