Chicago university seeks to boost campus safety with mobile phone alarm system
Chicago State University has launched a wireless mobile safety tool that can turn cell phones into location-aware devices that instantly connect users with campus police. Chicago State University is the first school in Illinois to install Rave Guardian that enables campus police to keep tabs on students who have signed up for the program.
CSU students, faculty and staff can register for Rave Guardian online, a process that includes their mobile numbers, the photo from their ID cards, physical description, pertinent health information and emergency contacts. When a student activates Guardian by dialing 911, this information–plus his location on the campus map–is automatically provided to campus police on a large plasma screen in the dispatch office and on laptops in squad cars that are patrolling the campus.
Rave Guardian complements CSU’s Rave Alert system, deployed in spring 2008. That system enables the University to react to and manage a situation by quickly sending emergency text alerts, voice messages and emails to the entire campus or specific groups.
