PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Temple University has launched its new, more robust on-campus safety app.
TUSafe is billed as a one-stop emergency reporting app, which students, faculty and staff are encouraged to download now. It replaces the RAVE app, which was introduced last February.
Dr. Jennifer Griffin, vice president of public safety at Temple, said the new app retains features from RAVE, with some added components.
“One is a panic button,” she said. “It’s a one-touch panic button. It gives geo-location. … It has text capabilities, so you can send a message or a picture in. You can send a crime tip.”
Dispatchers would review the tip and send out a police officer or push it to a supervisor for further investigation.
Students will also be able to request a walking escort, view campus and shuttle maps, and even host virtual walks with friends, allowing them to track each other to their destinations.
If a student sees something they want to report, they can do so using the app and without calling police.
“They don’t have to call us if they’re trying to be quiet,” Griffin emphasized. “They can send a text. They can take a picture. So it’s a lot more usable and mobile. You don’t have to be in a classroom at a set location. You could be out at Bell Tower and see something and be able to connect with us.”
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Griffin noted this is not a crime prevention tool but a way to improve communication.
Classes officially start on Aug. 28. The school is doing away with the RAVE app at the end of September.