LiveSafe- Never Walk Home Alone Again
By Erin Stackowitz, Contributing Writer
livesafemobile.com
This is not a topic that is privy to political debaters. This is not an issue that should be discussed every four years or even after the incidence occurs. Hate crimes, gun violence, sexual assaults, etc. are issues that face every community in the world and with this new app, LiveSafe, crime can be prevented and reported productively and anonymously.
LiveSafe is a free, mobile safety communications platform that encourages and enables discreet and secure bystander intervention by community members through information sharing with campus safety officials. Serving both iPhone and Android devices, students have the ability to report crime or suspicious activity by sharing pictures, videos, or audio clips with a geo-tagged location feature. What makes this app stand out from just simply dialing 911 is that this platform offers a two-way communication system. Safety officials can respond to students, faculty, and staff using a cloud-based Dashboard system.
By utilizing a real-time, two-way chat, safety officials can investigate further using the information submitted and increase campus watch. There are four main functions of this app, which include reporting a variety of incidents such as a car accident or vandalism, viewing a map and a list of reported suspicious activity, broadcasting an individual’s location to family or friends for safety, and calling or messaging 911. Another feature, SafeWalk, virtually walks you home after a long night in the library.
This app was the brainchild of Shy Pahlevani, who experienced sexual assault on campus and Kristina Anderson, who survived the infamous Virginia Tech campus-wide shooting. LiveSafe is designed with the intention that students can report crime anonymously and take more ownership in their campus’s safety.
It is especially helpful in disclosing statistically under-reported crimes, such as sexual assaults. This app is not only for heinous crimes; it also allows officials to report unsafe weather conditions, traffic areas to avoid due to construction, or even closed buildings.
LiveSafe is expertly designed and even garnered the support- in the form of 6.5 million dollars- from the Internet conglomerate IAC as well as numerous other angel investors including CIT GAP Funds. Mr. Diller, the serving director at Coca-Cola Company and at Graham Holdings, states, “We now have the technology and infrastructure to make life safer for people as they go about their daily lives…LiveSafe is an excellent platform for putting safety directly in people’s hands, and has the potential for making individuals and communities far safer than they are today.”
The promise in this app is growing and it has the potential to be brought out of schools and into sport arenas and shows. LiveSafe increases personal awareness, public safety and enhances everyday security.
