Photo Essay: Campus Security opens new control center
Photo by Senior Reporter Annie Youther
Campus Security recently upgraded its facilities to help cultivate a safer campus. A control room was built in the campus security office containing a live feed of 104 cameras that surveil campus. From this control room, officers can also monitor campus bus routes, the weather radar and the LiveSafe app.
“So if you call in, you’re getting somebody that’s sitting back there. No matter what that call might look like, [the control room] is where it starts,” said Tyler Allen, assistant director of Campus Security. “There are two monitors that have our dispatching software and access control system; a dispatcher will put those up during a call. Then, three 86 inch TVs with campus surveillance that they can watch along with a screen for LiveSafe.”
Allen encourages students to use LiveSafe instead of depending on sharing their location with friends because the app is connected to the control room.
A dispatcher can click a button to immediately view the LiveSafe app and its activity through the control room if a situation arises.
Photo by Senior Photographer Isaac Varcheresse
Photo by Senior Photographer Issac Vacheresse
“You can report by text and you can report by picking up phone calls through the app. If you’re doing it by the app, you can send us pictures, extend voice chat messages, and that is back and forth in real-time between you and the dispatcher,” Allen said. “You can also report anonymously through the app, if needed.”
Graduate holistic child development student Mary-Chrislyn Deerman has worked in the security office since her freshman year in 2018. Deerman says the control room makes her job much easier because it allows dispatchers to maintain situational awareness during any phone calls, reports or emergencies while maintaining their daily tasks at the front of the office.
Photo by Senior Reporter Annie Youther
“When we are dispatching in the control room, we are able to give our full attention to the caller and stay attentive throughout the duration of calls without having to pause and help students and employees that are coming in the front of the office. Overall, things run smoother in the control center,” said Deerman.
Student worker Noelle Allgood, a senior music and worship major, affectionately dubbed the control room “The Cave.”
“The control room gives workers the ability to focus solely on our work with barely any distractions,” Allgood said. “It truly has been a God-send.”
Photo by Senior Reporter Isaac Varcheresse
Allen and Deerman emphasized the importance of additional Campus Security resources students may not be aware of such as printing student IDs, issuing parking permits, giving safety rides, COVID-19 transports as well as helping out with vehicle issues and mental health crises.
“The campus security office is here to make sure students and faculty are safe. We cannot do anything if we do not know what is happening. Please, call and let us help,” Allgood encouraged.
Photo by Senior Photographer Issac Vacheresse
For more information about Campus Security, visit the Lee University website or Lee Clarion resource page.
