After a month with the new dispatch system that the Loyola Police Department implemented this semester, Chief of Police Todd Warren said it’s going well.
LUPD was previously partnered with Tulane University Police Department’s dispatch and, according to Warren, there were issues with the system put in place.
On March 1, LUPD announced they would no longer be using TUPD’s dispatch system and instead implementing a new system run by Campus Dispatch, a private company that helps small universities with their dispatch.
“I think it’s working great; I really do,” Warren said.
According to Warren, before the new system was implemented, LUPD had a slower response time to emergencies. Warren said this new system has helped with response time and accuracy for his team.
Warren said that students no longer get put on hold, which was a big issue for many community members.
“They’ll answer and then any one of them can dispatch Loyola,” he said.
Cathy Rogers, public relations professor, has been a part of the Loyola community since the ‘90s and said that she has seen a lot of changes to the systems over the years.
Rogers said she used the old dispatch system to help her get to her car late at night. She said that she never realized there were off campus dispatchers until one time the dispatcher didn’t know what campus she was on.
“It was the first time I realized that we had somebody off campus taking care of things,” Rogers said.
Rogers said she is happy to hear there is a new dispatch system to help keep the community safe.
Ty Wooten, director of government affairs for the international academies of emergency dispatch, said that it is important for small communities like Loyola to establish a system that makes everyone feel safe.
Wooten, who has been a dispatcher for 30 years, said it’s important for dispatchers to care and get all the information correct, so they can ensure a quick reaction time for the emergency response.
“If they do all the right things, then it will be a very good thing for all of you, as students and faculty, and even those who have come to visit your campus,” he said.
