New UK safety app announced for campus
March 10, 2015
By Cheyene Miller
UK student body president Jake Ingram officially announced the implementation of the new LiveSafe phone application Monday morning.
The app is available through the Apple store and Google Play store and is free to download for UK students, faculty and staff. According to Ingram, there have already been more than 1,000 downloads.
“We used our (student government) money to get it off the ground,” Ingram said. He noted that the app did not lead to an increase in student fees and likely will not in coming years.
The cost of maintaining the app will be $20,000 for the first year and will increase to $25,000 in years following, Ingram said.
The app is part of a five-year contract with LiveSafe, Inc. Ingram said the contract features annual renewals, meaning that there will be a decision every year to keep the program before the start of the fiscal year.
The cost of installing the app this year was split 50-50 between the Student Government Association and the Office of the Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration.
Ingram said he hopes that after this year, the UK Police Department, which is now in charge of the app, or the EVPFA will take on full financial responsibility.
Ingram called the program “an official public safety tool,” and said that he sees “a lot of potential for crime prevention,” but noted that it’s too early to tell if the program has actually reduced crime or improved campus safety.
With the app, students can immediately alert emergency officials and give anonymous tips on accidents, vandalism, theft, assault and other kinds of dangerous behavior. The tips are then compiled into a “Safety Map” which gives students information from crime reports about areas where major incidents have recently occurred.
The app includes the “SafeWalk” feature, which is essentially a virtual buddy system that allows students to invite other students with the app to communicate with them while they are on or off campus.
It also gives student information about campus and community resources, such as the Violence Intervention and Prevention Center and the Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center.
“(LiveSafe) is operated by UKPD and cosponsored by student government,” said Ingram, who noted that even though the tips sent to UKPD through the app are anonymous, reporting a false tip to police is illegal. “We want to make sure students understand that you should use this responsibly.”
