The free-to-download app will put staff and students in touch with security and emergency services to speed up potential responses to danger.
The University of Glasgow is looking to implement a new “SafeZone” app on campus this coming semester. SafeZone is a free-to-download safety app, designed to put students and staff in touch with security and emergency services.
Logging in with your University email address, the app can track your location in designated university zones including Wolfson, Hillhead, and Woodlands. However, the call emergency services feature works anywhere, allowing you to use the GPS location shown on the map to direct services to you. SafeZone can speed up potential responses, sharing vital information when users press the help buttons and give responders your exact location.
Buttons on the app include an emergency alert, wherein users can tap a red button when there is an emergency near campus, such as when you or someone else feels threatened, has been assaulted, or has been seriously injured.
The second of these buttons is first aid alert. This button puts you in contact with qualified first aiders and should be used for when you or anyone else is in need of first aid and do not know if you require an ambulance (the first aider on the line may call one for you if they feel it is appropriate).
The other button, help call, connects users to a local response team or campus security. This allows you to receive a safety escort home after dark, report suspicious activity and any other reason you wish to contact security.
SafeZone uses location services on devices which users have to agree to, however, this information is only shared with professional responders when someone has raised an alert or has checked in. Additionally, SafeZone can send out notifications and alerts giving information in cases of emergency. The app also allows first responders to communicate with you through the app, which you can respond to by pressing the app’s open chat function. First responders may also try and communicate by phoning you.
David Duncan, chief operating officer and University of Glasgow secretary, stated that the SafeZone app is easy to download and access and said he would “strongly encourage students and staff [to download it]… It’s a very simple thing to understand and to use if [students] need help. We can promise that if they do use it, then help will be provided.”
SafeZone has been used in more than 30 universities across the UK. Some of these universities include Aberdeen, Kent, and Imperial.
Further information can be found on the SafeZone website: safezoneapp.com.
