Policy Text
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
1
6.5 Campus Security Systems
6.5.2 Alarm , Emergency Call Button and Emergency Blue Light Phone Systems
(Revised: 5/10/23 )
A. Overview
1. Alarm systems protect many areas of the UCSF campus from intruders. These
systems send alerts directly to the ECC when triggered.
a. Security systems in public spaces on UCSF -owned property are installed by
and maintained by Facilities Services .
b. Other systems are requested by individual departments and research
facilities (clients). Such systems may be moni tored by the client and/or by
the ECC.
(1) In order for an alarm system to be monitored by the ECC, it must be
approved by the UCSF Police Department and installed by UCSF
Facilities Services.
B. Location and Purpose of Alarms
1. Emerg ency Call Button (“Panic Button”)/Intercom Alarms and Emergency Blue
Light Telephones : installed throughout the Campus in locations where a life -
threatening situation or need for medical aid or immediate police response may
likely be encountered. Some exam ples are cashiering points, money handling areas
and research laboratories.
2. Intrusion Alarms : installed in various sensitive areas of the University and utilize
motion detectors and door/window contacts to detect unauthorized entry into the
alarmed area . These alarms may be used in conjunction with an emergency call
button system to provide 24 -hour coverage in critical areas.
3. Special Service Alarms : used in areas requiring consistent environmental
conditions. Some examples are carbon monoxide and free zer temperature alarms.
C. Alarm Response
When an ECC dispatcher is alerted to an alarm signal, he/she will initiate the following
response:
1. Emergency Call Button (“Panic Button”)/Intercom Alarms and Emergency Blue
Light Telephones
a. Immediately dispatch a minimum of two police officers to the alarm
location regardless of whether or not the dispatcher can confirm there is an
emergency. The only exception is if the Watch Commander determines and
directs that only one officer is necessar y.
(1) Detectives or sworn management personnel may be dispatched if no
uniformed officers are within reasonable distance of the alarm.
(2) The responding officers or other sworn personnel will handle the
call as outlined in General Orders 4.6, “Patrol Ope rations.”
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
2
2. Intrusion Alarms
a. The ECC dispatcher will dispatch a police officer(s) to the alarm location
regardless of whether or not the dispatcher is able to confirm there is an
emergency.
b. Upon arrival, the officer(s) will investigate to determine if the activation is
crime -related, accidental or caused by a system malfunction. If necessary or
if requested by the client, the emergency contact(s) for an alarm in a non -
public area will be notified and briefed on the situation.
c. If requested by the U CSF Police Department Watch Commander, the
client’s emergency contact may be required to respond to the alarm location.
d. If the alarm activation is not crime -related , an incident number will be
created, and the officers will secure the area and clear the scene.
e. If the alarm activation is crime -related , the crime scene will be processed
and a crime report written and forwarded to the UCSF Police Department
Investigations Unit for follow up.
f. If the alarm was caused by a malfunction , the officers shall leave a business
card with the incident number and the phone number to call to access further
information. The client will then be responsible for initiating alarm repairs
in a timely manner by contacting the Facilities Services customer service
desk.
3. Special Service Alarms
a. When a special service alarm is triggered, the ECC dispatcher responding
will attempt to contact the primary authorized account contact, the
secondary authorized contact, the third and so on, until contact is made or
the list is e xhausted. The dispatcher will leave a message for each individual
he/she calls.
b. If contact is made, the client representative will be apprised of the situation
and he/she will thereafter be responsible for directing the response to the
alarm situation.
c. If unsuccessful in contacting a client representative, the ECC dispatcher
will, after 20 minutes have elapsed since the last contact attempt, send
Facilities Services to the alarm location to make any necessary repairs.
(1) In this situation, the clien t will be billed by Facilities Services for a
minimum of three hours of labor at the overtime rate.
D. Testing and Maintenance of Panic Alarms and Emergency Blue Light Telephones
1. Public Areas : All panic alarm systems and emergency call buttons/intercoms in
public areas shall be tested quarterly with a documented test of each alarm.
Documented quarterly testing is the responsibility of the UCSF PD Security
Services in coordination with ECC staff . Alarms ar e maintained in working order
by UCSF Facilities Services .
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
3
2. All Emergency Blue Light Telephones transmitting directly to the ECC will be
tested quarterly , with a documented inspection and test of each telephone. Any
operating problems or maintenance issue should be reported in a timely manner to
Facilities for immediate attention.
3. Restricted Access Areas (e.g., in departments and laboratories) : Alarm systems in
restricted access (non-public) areas are recommended by UCSF Police Departme nt
to be tested annually, but each individual department or facility is responsible for
the testing of alarm units in its system.