If you left campus in May thinking everything would be as you left it, you wouldn’t be at the ‘Innovation University’. Stevens has renovated nearly every campus building, from HVAC repairs to additional classroom space. There are new offices in McLean, Babbio, EAS, Davidson, and Gateway, new turf on the athletic field, and two new classrooms and teaching labs in the library basement. Possibly the most noticeable change is the relocation of the campus police dispatch center from Howe to their headquarters in Kidde. The Stute corresponded with Deputy Chief of Police Robert DiGenova for more information.
DiGenova describes the move as an overdue necessity for the police dispatch center’s operations. “The design of the front desk was conducive to the needs of a visitors’ center, not a police dispatch center, and was never intended to serve that function,” he said. During regular hours, the Howe lobby has heavy foot traffic, with students moving through the dining hall, bookstore, and now classrooms. DiGenova says it is ideal “for the dispatchers to be in a secure area within police headquarters whenever possible to limit these distractions and to ensure privacy.”
The remodeling of the Kidde Headquarters allows for a vastly improved workflow for the dispatchers. One of the standard tools dispatchers use is a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer. The Howe Center desk did not meet the privacy standards of the New Jersey State Police, which necessitated the NCIC computer terminal to be stored in a back room. DiGenova says the dispatcher had to leave the front desk to make an inquiry which “jeopardized the officer’s safety, and would give the impression that there was no one at the desk. Now, the NCIC computer terminal is secured and at the dispatchers’ fingertips.” The consolidated workspace allows dispatchers to have all of the necessary tools within view. Two new screens with live security camera footage, Stevens Guardian information, a fire panel, and water flow monitoring allow police to easily keep track of any emergency situations on campus as they unfold. Stevens Guardian network allows students to send their location to a designated contact or the campus police, similar to Life360 or FindMyFriends. Stevens Police does not keep tabs on your location, but if you indicate that you need help, the app is able to send your precise location to campus police.
One concern about the move is the lack of a non-emergency safe space open 24 hours a day that students can go to. The Wesley J. Howe building is one of the easiest landmarks on campus, a dropoff point for Stevens Shuttle, and, prior to the move, it had bathrooms and water 24/7. While the welcome desk was not built to be a dispatch center, it was nevertheless a useful resource for students. The Howe Center served as a shelter to escape wind, rain, or the cold late at night, or just an indoor facility for distressed, inebriated, or disoriented students. In response to questions raised concerning the potentially chilling effect the police headquarters relocation may have on students in this situation, Officer DiGenova responded, “Stevens Police offers support for student safety at every hour of the day and night, every day of the year, at Police HQ in the Morton-Pierce-Kidde Complex, whether or not the situation is emergent.”
