NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Emergency calls on college campuses don't have to be saved. Some Tennessee lawmakers want to change that starting with the emergency blue light phones.
Emergency blue-light phones are all over most campuses. The tall, bright phone boxes are easy to find, usually by libraries, dorms, college gyms. They're also said to prevent some crime.
However, colleges are not required by federal or state law to save any calls to police or campus security.
"I just think it's worth us looking into," said Rep. John Crawford.
State Rep. John Crawford is one of the state lawmakers interested in putting something on the books.
"It was very much of a shock when I found out they weren't being recorded, and instead of just sitting back I thought this was a good opportunity to move things forward and put this bill in," Rep. Crawford said.
Nearly all the state’s public universities do not record calls, few private institutions do, and zero community colleges record calls.
Last year, Tennessee got serious about learning the different call recording systems on college campuses. The Tennessee Advisory Commission sent out a survey. Of the 22 institutions that responded to a survey, 16 said the calls to campus security are not recorded.
HB 1874 would require the board of directors of an emergency communications district ensure calls on blue-light phones are recorded. It wouldn't go as far as requiring calls from cell phones be saved. Still, implementing this could be costly.
The Commission found start-up costs for some colleges were around $100,000.
As it's written, the state isn't going to provide any funding.
"Right now, the way the bill is written, it should be no fiscal note on it which is exciting to me. Their might be a small cost to locals that don't have that ability at this time," Rep. Crawford said.
I always say storytelling is a team sport, and a key part of the NewsChannel 5 team is our photojournalists. They are nationally recognized for their talents, more importantly, they are also great people. Enjoy this peek behind the lens, get to know them, and see some of their most notable work of 2025!
- Carrie Sharp
