Christina Smith
Daily Egyptian
The Department of Public Safety has changed its non-emergency phone number to make it easier to remember.
"Changing our non-emergency number from 453-2381 to 453-DPS1 or
453-3771, will help students who are here and then gone - and might not
be here long enough to commit a number to memory like an employee
would," Public Safety Director Todd Sigler said.
The goal was to change the number to something people could associate with the office, Sigler said.
There are times when a student is reluctant to call 911 and wants to
call the non-emergency line, but is not sure what the phone number is,
Sigler said.
"My boss, Executive Director of Administration Kathy Hagler, asked me
to look into the availability of the 453-DPS1 number and it happened to
be available," Sigler said.
The department is trying to find ways to get the word out about the new
phone number. When students come in to buy parking decals in August,
they will receive an insert with the new non-emergency phone number,
Sigler said. The number will also be posted on the University's
employee ListServ in July and has already been listed on the Department
of Public Safety's Web site.
The campus police department will be mailing letters to local police
departments and other local businesses to publicize the business
number's change, Sigler said.
When the new number goes into effect, there will be a six-month
transition period recognizing phone calls made with the old
non-emergency and business number. The transition period will end
January 31.
Reporter Christina Smith can be reached at
christina_smith@dailyegyptian.com ;
