TO: Members of the Gustavus Community
FROM: Henry P. Toutain, Dean of Students
Ray Thrower, Director of Safety and Security
In recent years, some new and more sophisticated technologies have been adopted to facilitate or improve upon a variety of campus operations. These include: devices that turn lights off in unoccupied rooms, equipment that audibly announces the need to evacuate the Campus Center when smoke is detected, and systems that quickly deliver emergency messages over multiple platforms.
Typically, new technologies are introduced on a pilot basis and their results and cost-effectiveness carefully assessed. Most of these changes – even cameras in the BookMark, computer labs and the Marketplace, for example – are also fairly apparent.
Because a new technology under review by Safety and Security is not so evident, I thought it important to provide this notice. As a way of creating an additional and more complete record – particularly during situations involving crowds, where arguments are ensuing, emergencies, etc. – Safety and Security officers will be testing a device that permits voice and video recordings of interactions. The hope is that such records will be useful in settling discrepant accounts, permitting more careful review of standard operating procedures, and generally improving Safety and Security services.
If you have specific questions or concerns about the pilot, please don’t hesitate to contact Ray Thrower, Director of Safety and Security.