Behind the closed doors of a small office in the Finn Caspersen Student Center, Peddie’s security team works around the clock to ensure the community is safe. Although many students may see Security as only being useful for unlocking dorms or opening the Mail Hut, Director of Security Paul Miller and Security Officer Christopher Blauth sat down with the Peddie News to shed more light on this integral part of the Peddie community.

One of the most common requests from students can be unlocking a dorm room or door. “Lockouts, continual lockouts, can be annoying. Especially if it’s the same few people. And it doesn’t tend to be. But if we do have a lot – 8 or 9 times in one day, it can be enough to take away from some of the more important things that we have to handle,” said Miller.

Students may have also noticed several security cameras scattered throughout campus. Although these video feeds are continuously shown in the Security office, there isn’t a guard that constantly monitors these feeds. Instead, the cameras are mainly used as a record in case anything happens. “We had one kid that asked the office to see if they were using their phone as they left the dining hall – they’d lost their phone and wanted to see if we could tell where it was,” said Miller. In other cases, where a potential theft has occurred or item has gone missing, the security office sometimes can trace who took the item or when.

The Security office also handles considerable behind the scenes work. Coordinating with local police and fire departments during monthly lockdown and fire drills, the team works to ensure that the school and the students remain safe in the case of any emergencies.

“We want to let people know that we are always here 24/7, and that overall, Peddie is a nice place to be,” said Miller.