Brantford has launched a new safety measure in Harmony Square. The “code blue emergency phone” is a direct link to first responders. The city said the intercom is meant to be used for medical emergencies, public safety concerns or to report potentially criminal behaviour. “These stations are used to assist people who may be in an emergency situation, who may not have access to a cellphone or any other phone that may be readily available to them,” explained Brandon Partridge, the city’s supervisor of surveillance. “This does have two-way communication with the 911 dispatcher directly.” The city said the initiative came out of discussions between the Brantford Police Service and officials at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Brantford campus, who noted that some people may not have access to a cellphone. “Due to a lack of payphones in the downtown, the city was asked to investigate installing code blue emergency phones,” the city said in a media release. They were installed in July and work in tandem with the CCTV system in Harmony Square. “This will not replace any current measure we have in place, including the security services or police walking around the area,” Partridge noted. The code blue phones are currently a pilot project. The city said more could be installed in and around the downtown if the initiative is successful. “Very often people don’t know what to do, don’t know who to turn to,” explained Tim Philp, executive director of the Rosewood House shelter. “If there’s something here that’s got a specific purpose to it that will allow people to reach emergency services quickly and safely, then I think that’s a great idea.” The city said the phones are intended for emergencies only. They warned that anyone who misused them could be charged for common nuisance.
