Elon University Campus Police introduced a new app last week adding to their "toolbox" for keeping campus safe.
Although LiveSafe was introduced to campus a week ago, according to Campus Safety and Police Director Dennis Franks, it has been in the works since November.
Franks said several vendors were considered before LiveSafe was chosen. LiveSafe's website says the app "facilitates discreet and risk-free bystander intervention by community members through information sharing with campus safety officials."
On the main page of the app, users can contact Campus Police or dial 911. Other menu options include reporting non-emergency tips and locating blue lights across campus. Another feature of the LiveSafe app is the option to call SafeRides or use the SafeWalk feature. SafeWalk allows the user to invite friends to track their location as they walk from one place to another, a feature Franks says he thinks will be the most popular.
ELN spoke with Franks about the roll of the app on Elon's campus.
"I just think it's a simpler way to get things reported that they feel need to be reported or looked into, they have the option to be anonymous, you can call here and say I don't want to give my name but this is just a simpler way to report things without having to make a phone call," Chief Franks said.
The app is currently used by institutions in 18 different states. For Elon to get its own version of the app, it cost the University $11,000. As of Monday, a week after the app was introduced, there are nearly 700 users registered at Elon and about 30 tips have been submitted through the app.