Feel Safe at UConn

Hey everyone, Kevin here!

Emergency Blue Light at UConn

I recently spoke with UConn Police Officer, Thomas Ryba to get a better idea about what students should know about campus safety. Ryba has been working for the UConn Police Department for eight years. He stressed that students should understand how the 9-1-1 system works. If a student calls 9-1-1 on campus, the call will be sent directly to the UConn Police Department.

Also, he talked about the importance of the Emergency Blue Lights. If the button is pressed, the UConn Police will know exactly where the emergency is taking place. Once the button is pressed – you are instantly connected to a Dispatcher and a Police Officer will be by your side within 90 seconds.

An emergency notification system (alert.uconn.edu) is in place that notifies students if there is an emergency on campus. A text and email will be sent to students. The UConn website also have an Alert banner that appears at the top of the page. Also a loud speaker system is in place to warn students if there is an emergency.

Just so everyone knows, there is absolutely no difference between our UConn Police department than any other  town’s Police, they all have received the same training. There are 50 trained Police officers and 29 Firefighters on the Storrs campus. These officers do many events across campus to education students and faculty. They come into many First Year Experience classes and talk about campus safety. Also, they talk about alcohol and drug awareness and violence in the workplace. We have a great Police Department at UConn and thanks to them, I always feel safe on campus!

Later UConn,

Kevin