Texting system set in place to receive, process complaints

Cornhusker football fans tired of dealing with the belligerent and intoxicated will have a new outlet to which they can voice their problems – though their voices won't be necessary.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will adopt a new text message-based reporting system this fall that will aid in security at NU sporting events and around campus. The university announced the new program in a release on June 16.

"It allows another method of reporting incidents to the police," said Owen Yardley, UNL police chief. "In situations where something does need to be reported, it gives students another way of doing it, and it can be rather discreet."

Students can text "UNLPD" (41513) with their complaint and location. Yardley said UNL police would still prefer phone calls so they can collect more information before responding to an incident, but in loud, packed places like Memorial Stadium and the Bob Devaney Sports Center texting is often more convenient.

The system will first be used on July 4 during Larry the Cable Guy's performance at Memorial Stadium.

During games, fans can text "UNLPD" to deal with a wide array of complaints, ranging from medical problems to issues with rowdy fans.

"If people have a problem and know of a situation, they can text in their location and the incident so we can get the appropriate people there for the response," Yardley said. "We think it would be a very good application at athletic events."

Students can also text UNL Police around campus, making the program a convenient addition to the blue light phone system already in use.

One motivation for installing the texting system was the Nov. 3 incident at Richards Hall in which a student was arrested for brandishing a toy gun. UNL Police were first notified of the incident in progress when a student in a Richards Hall classroom texted a friend, who then relayed the report to police.

"That was one of the initial situations that prompted us to start looking in this direction so that we could get those reports directly and not have the information filtered through other people," Yardley said.

The system was paid for by the athletic department and will be monitored by campus police.

"We've been a leader throughout the country in some of the things that we do, and we felt that this was one of the better systems that we could use to enhance our fan experience," said Butch Hug, assistant athletic director for events. "It gives people an opportunity to help cut down on some of the behavior that is unacceptable."

The technology for the system is provided by In Stadium Solutions. The company, based in Sunrise, Fla., provides texting services to six other universities as well as some of the top sporting events in the nation. This year's Super Bowl, BCS college football championship and World Baseball Classic all used ISS programs.

According to Scott Meyers, vice president of marketing and sales for ISS, UNL's texting system will be unique from other universities' programs because of its ability to be used daily.

"It's for big events and daily use, and they obviously decided to go with it because it would be helpful," Meyers said of his program. "It can record any stadium issue, but I'd say the majority go to report on unruly fans."

The University of Florida is one of the half-dozen schools working with ISS. The university did a trial run of the software in April during UF's Orange and Blue spring football game.

"We may use it in the fall," said Kate Harte, a spokesperson for UF operations and facilities. "We did use it in the Orange and Blue game, and it worked pretty well, but obviously there weren't as many people there as there would be during a regular season game."

The texting system can also be used for promotional purposes and feature in-game contests. Although most sports teams that work with ISS take advantage of this opportunity, it remains to be seen whether NU's athletic department will do so.

"That is still being discussed, it may or may not be," Hug said. "We're working with marketing to see if we'll continue to do that."

During sporting events, police will verify all complaints before responding, using cameras and radio communication. Meyers said that about 5 percent of texts during these events are pranks, but there are settings in place to cut down on this occurrence.

"If there are pranks coming in, they can be locked out of the system," Yardley said. "If we identify them to be pranks, they'll be sent a warning, and then they'll be locked out."

Yardley believes prank texts might be less of a problem at NU games due to the high number of season ticket holders.

"We're thinking we may have less problems than others have encountered because we do have the same people there pretty much week in and week out," he said. "We'll just have to wait and see."

maxolson@dailynebraskan.com