BANGOR, Maine — When Husson University students and employees arrive on campus in the fall, they’ll have the option of picking up a small personal safety device meant to ensure they can get help at the press of a button.
Through an agreement with Peace of Mind Co., a New York-based startup, the 3,500-student private campus is offering students, faculty and others on campus a small device, called a POM, that can be attached to a keychain or put in a purse.
Pressing the button on the POM for three seconds sounds an alarm at the campus security office and allows responding officers to pull up a map showing the location of the device, within a few feet. Security officers also can access a profile filled out by the device holder notifying them of personal information, such as medical problems or specific safety concerns. Campus security personnel also can communicate with the person through the device, as if they had called on their phone.
This means the student doesn’t have to pull out their cellphone, unlock it and dial 911. They just have to press a button. Tapping the same button three times sets off an audible alarm emitted from the POM.
“Anyone who works in public safety will tell you that saving seconds saves lives,” said Raymond Bessette, a retired Maine State Police deputy chief who recently took over as Husson University’s director of safety and security.
He cited one recent example in which a student suffered a seizure on campus and called 911, but wasn’t able to inform the dispatcher where she was before losing the ability to speak. Hearing the scanner traffic, campus personnel went out to help find the woman and direct ambulance crews to her.
Now that student has a POM device that will automatically notify campus security and help pinpoint her location in the event of a future medical emergency, Bessette said.
In other situations, the device could help potential victims of sexual assault or other violent crimes get rapid assistance.
“This is taking the blue-light systems that were deployed on campuses all over the country — that were probably very good in their day before cellphones — to putting the blue lights in the palm of your hand,” Bessette said during an interview Wednesday at Husson.
POM also has silent devices that activate a one-way call to campus security, serving as a sort of discreet panic button.
Husson was among the first universities in the country to conduct a trial of the devices last year. In October, the university selected a group of 30 people on campus, including students and staff members, to try out the POM.
Bessette encouraged participants to use the device for many purposes — not just emergencies — to ensure the system worked and that the university could discover any glitches or flaws in the devices. People participating in the trial used the device to report they had been locked out of their dorm rooms and cars, or just to ask campus security a question.
Bessette said there were more than 200 activations during the trial period, and none were accidental.
When the device launches officially on campus at the start of the next school year, the university will have the option of setting up a “geo-fence” around campus. If a student is off campus when they activate the device, it will automatically call 911 and put the student in touch with a public safety dispatcher wherever they are in the country. University public safety officials also will get a notification that one of their devices was activated off-campus.
The POM has limits. Like the GPS in phones, it can’t determine the exact room the holder is in or which floor they are on. Bessette said that campus security could pull up information on a student to determine what dorm room is theirs or what classes they have to pinpoint where they might be. Residence hall directors or assistants also can be contacted to help find the person.
Through the deal with Peace of Mind Co., the university purchases the $30 devices, which students can order online. Students cover the $45 annual subscription cost.
Bessette said he considered requesting an additional fee for all Husson students to offset subscription costs. Ultimately, it was decided that because carrying a device would be a personal choice, it shouldn’t be a mandatory cost for all students.
If a student fears for their personal safety and wants to have a POM immediately, or wants one but can’t afford it, the university will make accommodations. Bessette keeps a stock of POMs in his office for such occasions.
The university will share information with incoming and returning students about how to get a POM as they prepare to return to campus in the fall.
“Our university continues to be one of the safest campuses in the country, and we want it to stay that way,” Bessette said. “One sexual assault on campus is one too many. We’re hoping that this device can help make our already safe campus even safer.”
According to self-reported crime data submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, Husson reported three instances of sexual assault or rape on campus between 2012 and 2014. At least one other sexual assault report was investigated earlier this year.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.