LiveSafe mobile app offered to enhance campus safety

UNC Charlotte officials are offering a free mobile device application for students, faculty and staff to instantly share safety and security concerns with the University Police and Public Safety Department. The free app, called LiveSafe, is now available as campus safety officials introduced the new technology earlier this month.

Students and employees can download the free app on their smart phones and tablets through iTunes and Google Play.

Using the app, members of the campus community can share information through text, photo or video directly from their smart phones. The notifications can be made anonymously. Campus police will be able to respond to reports and monitor real-time information from a command dashboard.

“LiveSafe is a great communication tool that will help us better serve our community by creating closer connections,” said Jeff Baker, chief of the UNC Charlotte Police and Public Safety Department (PPS). “People are deeply connected to their smart phones, so providing them with a modern solution to share safety information made sense for our campus.”

The app offers a number of useful features when an individual senses a threat. It also will help police send out alerts in the case of an emergency. For example, if students feel like they are in danger, there is a one-touch button that connects directly to emergency dispatch. Previously, it required cell phone users to dial the full University PPS dispatch number. When the button is pushed, the police department can track the student through the GPS installed in their cell phone.

If the student is able to take a picture of a suspect or of some suspicious activity, he or she also can send it directly to the emergency dispatch center through the mobile application.

Even if a student doesn’t happen to be in the presence of imminent danger but simply doesn’t feel safe walking alone, LiveSafe has something to offer him or her. SafeWalk is a feature offered by the application that, when turned on, allows a phone to trace the route taken. With the feature, students and others will be able to invite others to “virtually escort” them by monitoring their location on a map.

The app went live on June 1 and Baker is hoping to add a large number of downloads as the first SOAR orientation sessions take place this month on campus to welcome freshman and transfer students, along with their parents.

Some of the key features available in the app include:

• The ability to call or have a text conversation with PPS
• The ability to anonymously report tips with pictures or videos to campus police
• The ability to conduct a virtual “safe-walk” that allows selected contacts to temporarily track one’s movements while a person walks to his/her destination
• A full list of all campus buildings with GPS assistance to guide a person to the building he/she is attempting to locate
• A list of contacts for vital campus emergency and non-emergency services.
• A situationally specific list of emergency tips and best practices for a multitude of emergency events
• An electronic copy of the University Campus Evacuation Plan and Emergency Manual