In an effort to keep residents safe, the city of Lorain installed Blue Light Emergency Call Boxes to open a direct line of communication to the Lorain Police Department.
City officials say there are currently three active emergency boxes, with plans to add more in the future. The current boxes are located in the southeast corner of Veteran's Park, downtown on W. 6th Street and in the northeast corner of Oakwood Park.
The boxes will be in service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A blue light shines atop the boxes, allowing them to be highly visible to anyone in need. When someone pushes a button on the box, city officials say a call will go to the telecommunicators who will immediately dispatch an officer to the area.
City officials say the boxes are meant to be used in emergency situations when a cell phone cannot be used.
“We constantly strive to improve the safety and well-being of our residents by providing as many ways as possible for you to contact us when you need emergency assistance. Like college campuses and hospitals throughout the country, we have revived an age-old method to contact the police when in public. Though most people now have cellphones, we recognize that in some emergencies a citizen may not have the use of cellphone to call the police. To increase safety in our downtown and other highly used public locations, we have installed emergency callboxes that allow our citizens to request emergency assistance.”
Over the past few months, Lorain has seen a surge of fatal violence. There have been nine homicides in the city so far this year, the most recent of which left two brothers dead in an apartment shooting.
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