Make your smart phone a safety device
TUPD superintendent Jon Barnwell believes that safety is a shared responsibility among the police department, students, staff members and faculty. “Our mission is to assist the university community in providing a safe and secure environment in which to learn, live and work,” he says. (Photo by Sally Asher)
With the fall semester under way, the Tulane University Police Department has introduced upgrades to the Rave Guardian virtual safety escort program it brought to campus last year.
Rave Guardian is now a smart phone app that allows students, faculty or staff members to alert TUPD if they fail to arrive at an intended destination on time.
“This is nothing more than making your phone a personal safety device. It only takes a minute to download the app.” -- TUPD superintendent Jon Barnwell
Registered users create caller profiles that can include medical conditions, course schedule, addresses, photo and other pertinent information.
The new features include a panic button, which allows direct immediate connection to TUPD with GPS location; and tip texting, which enables uses to report anonymous crime tips or crimes in progress.
The app also has a personal guardians feature through which students can identify friends, roommates and family members as guardians along with TUPD. Users set the Rave Guardian Timer, allowing “guardians” and campus police to check their status. If the Rave Guardian timer is not deactivated before it expires, campus safety is automatically provided with the user"s Rave Guardian profile to proactively identify and check in on the individual.
Jon Barnwell, superintendent of TUPD, said that with most people carrying smart phones these days, the company behind Rave Guardian, Rave Mobile Safety, was ready to transition from a simple cell phone tool to one that enhances safety on campus.
“This is nothing more than making your phone a personal safety device,” Barnwell says. “It only takes a minute to download the app. I"d rather you have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”
Android and iPhone users with a Tulane.edu email address may download the app from their app stores free of charge.
