Re: 9-1-1 for Campuses or Business Complexes

[Chris Aubrey <craubrey@uvic.ca>]

Dave,

At the University Of Victoria, we have our own emergency number
independant from 911. Callers either have to phone both 911 and us to
report incidents, or just call Campus Security. We then have the
ability to conference the caller to 911 where we are both involved in
the call and getting the information at the same time. Sounds much
like your option #3.

<<<<
3.  Replace the existing campus emergency number with 9-1-1 but
enable Campus Police to transfer directly to the other service while
remaining on the line.
<<<<

While it is not 911 we answer, it essentially does the same thing.
The only downfall we have noticed with the system is when callers do
call 911 direct, we are not always notified about the call. For
example we had a chemical fire last year where 911 was called and the
fire department responded, but Campus Security was not notified. It
wasn't until the fire department contacted us by radio (we share an
unified radio system with local police and fire) that we were
actually aware of the call. 

Other than this, the system has worked out well and as far as I know,
we are not looking at taking over 911 calls anytime soon. Our campus
is split between two municipalities so it would mean both municipal
police departments coming on board with the idea which is propbably
unlikely for now. Our call load is not so great that it would warrant
us having our own 911 system.

I hope this helps :)

Cheers,
Chris Aubrey
Campus Security Services
University of Victoria
dispatch@uvic.ca
(250) 721-6683 - 24 hr Non-Emergency
(250) 721-6612 - Fax

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