University of Chicago Deploys Safety App

University of Chicago Deploys Safety App

With the UChicago Safe app, users can directly call the University of Chicago Police Department and Chicago Police Department, as well as report crimes and talk to UC safety and security dispatch.

  • By Jessica Davis
  • October 17, 2018

The University of Chicago’s Department of Safety and Security has launched the free safety app UChicago Safe. The app, a collaboration with AppArmor, provides emergency and safety links and resources for the University of Chicago campus.

With the UChicago Safe app, users can directly call the University of Chicago Police Department and Chicago Police Department, as well as report crimes and talk to UC safety and security dispatch. The UChicago Safe app includes a “blue light” system that shares a user’s location with the CPD and calls the police department to dispatch an officer to that location.

“The Department of Safety and Security wanted to provide the University of Chicago community with additional ways to contact the Department of Safety and Security and the UCPD,” said Michael Kwiatkowski, Executive Director of Campus Safety. “The popularity and interest in mobile safety applications has increased greatly in the past three years.”

The app also features safety notifications that instantly notify users about on-campus emergencies and send detailed instructions and emergency plans.

UChicago Safe is part of the university’s new “opt-in” security alert system, which allows people to choose what type of alerts they want to receive, and how many. The “opt-in” system was announced by Associate Vice President for Safety and Security last spring after people complained about receiving too many alerts via their university email.

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

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