Campus Security

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Due to the University of Kentucky being an open campus, people do not have to be affiliated with the university to walk the same sidewalks as students and faculty, attend U.K. sporting events or use campus buildings, like the library.  Because of this, U.K. has implemented a number of security measures to enhance safety for the students and faculty.  To ensure that students and faculty are safe and in the know about the going-ons of campus at all times, University of Kentucky utilizes the UK Alert system (UK Crisis Management and Preparedness).  The UK Alert system notifies students and faculty via various methods in case of an emergency or potentially harmful situation on campus (UK Crisis Management and Preparedness).  Every student’s UKY email is automatically registered to receive alerts, but students can also opt to get notifications other ways, like through text messages and phone calls (UK Crisis Management and Preparedness).  In special circumstances, University of Kentucky uses blue light towers for an outdoor siren that notifies students of a situation without delay (UK Crisis Management and Preparedness).  These towers may provide messages like “seek shelter” or “hazardous conditions” if students could potentially be in immediate danger (UK Crisis Management and Preparedness).  U.K. is among the many campuses across the country that has put the use of blue lights in effect.  Blue lights stations are easily spotted at night and provide someone in need with a help button and a direct line to the police (Marino 2015).  While many people complain about the resources spent on the blue lights and claim that they don't seem to offer much more than increased lighting at night, University of Kentucky has kept these blue lights as a safeguard in the event that other main types of communication are not currently available.  The blue lights can be found scattered around campus in areas with the highest volumes of traffic.  

     In addition to the blue lights, Kentucky also offers their own version of a chauffeur service called “Wildcab” (UK Transportation Services).  Wildcab offers University of Kentucky students free transportation from 10p.m. to 3a.m. every Thursday through Saturday to provide students a safe way of getting home if needed (UK Transportation Services).  Similarly, University of Kentucky’s ROTC program offers rides home to students working late in the library (UK Transportation Services).  

     The University of Kentucky has created the LiveSafe Mobile App for students, faculty, staff, and visitors to not only to help prevent crime, but to increase the quality on incident reports (UK Crisis Management and Preparedness). This app is available for both iPhones and Androids, and has a lot of capabilities (UK Crisis Management and Preparedness). One can share information with the police directly through the app via text or photo. Information can range from suspicious activity to a stop light that has stopped working. The app provides the user the option to remain anonymous while submitting a tip (UK Crisis Management and Preparedness). It also has a Safewalk mode where you can be tracked and virtually escorted until you have arrived at your desired destination (UK Crisis Management and Preparedness). Safewalk requires the simple step of enabling location services for the program to work (UK Crisis Management and Preparedness). A great thing for visitors or even for unsure students is a map of campus and directions to any building on campus. This prevents visitors from getting lost on campus and can get a student to class on time. The app also has access to emergency information and resources, such as emergency procedures, which includes procedures for on and off campus emergencies. Police say that if you are capable of doing so, you should first call 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency, but the LiveSafe app is especially useful if the user is unable to call 9-1-1 or the user needs to be discreet (UK Crisis Management and Preparedness). The app is simple to set up, as it only requires you to fill out a user profile in the event that the police need to contact you if additional information is needed (UK Crisis Management and Preparedness).  All of these safety measures are instituted in an effort to keep students out of potentially dangerous situations, and to make campus as a whole a safer community.