With the activation of a new public safety app, LiveSafe, University of North Georgia students, faculty, staff, or visitors can now ask a friend or even the campus police to watch them walk to their cars or buildings.
"You can also have direct interaction with a 911 operator with this app," said Greg Williams, assistant director of emergency preparedness in public safety at UNG.
The SafeWalk button on the LiveSafe app is just one of many options offered. Williams said the wealth of choices on LiveSafe is one reason UNG changed to a different app. A second reason was several University System of Georgia schools employ the same app, which adds another benefit.
"If you go to a seminar at another college, how would you learn about an emergency on campus?" Williams asked. "With LiveSafe, you can switch the platform from UNG to University of Georgia for example. Then you would get emergency alerts on your phone there just like you would if you were on UNG’s campus."
Carleigh Smith, senior implementation manager of higher education at LiveSafe, said 140 universities are using the app along with corporate clients, sports stadiums, malls and entertainment venues.
LiveSafe was founded by Shy Pahlevani, a victim of a violent robbery, and Kristina Anderson, a survivor of the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech.
"They wanted to create a platform to send information to 911 and report any suspicious activity or behavior," Smith said.
LiveSafe will replace UNG’s current public safety app called Rave Guardian, which will remain active until Sept. 1. All UNG campuses have access to the LiveSafe app, which launched July 1. The dates overlap to allow students, faculty, and staff to remove RAVE and upload LiveSafe to their mobile devices.
To help students, faculty and staff acclimate to the new system, the Department of Public Safety will host a scavenger hunt using the app. Williams said it will include sending a picture of a police car or taking a selfie with a campus police officer, then sending it to public safety using the app.
"Participants will be entered into a raffle and win a prize like an Amazon gift card," Williams said.
