The University of York launched an app for staff on students on January 8 to provide all-hours safety and reassurance. York is the first university in the Russell Group to roll out the free to use application for those on campus to summon security or safety assistance via their mobile phones.
CriticalArc’s SafeZone software allows security or first aid personnel to pinpoint the location where help is needed. It also provides students and staff with a way of summoning general assistance from the Security Services help desk through a tap of an on-screen button.
Nearly 20,000 students and staff will be able to access three main features using SafeZone — emergency, first aid and general help. Emergency and first aid options will bring security or first aid officers to the location of the call, while the general help button connects directly to the Campus Services Helpdesk. The SafeZone system will also help the university send targeted notification messages to students and staff in the event of an incident in particular areas or buildings on campus.
Security staff across campus have put SafeZone through trials for more than a month and the edge of city, Heslington-based university (pictured courtesy of the university) will stage roadshows to explain how students and staff can sign up for the app. SafeZone works within designated zones covering Heslington West, Heslington East, the King’s Manor and the University Boathouse. Denis Fowler, the University’s Director of Health and Safety said: “Our campus is already very safe but SafeZone gives students and staff extra reassurance that assistance is no more than the touch of a button away. The system allows us to monitor the positions of security personnel and first aiders so we can deploy them swiftly and efficiently to provide assistance and support where necessary. Previously, in the event of an emergency many students automatically called 999 but SafeZone™ provides a more targeted method of summoning assistance on campus.”
The university has worked with the developers of SafeZone, Australian company CriticalArc, to introduce the product. Darren Chalmers-Stevens, EMEA Director, CriticalArc, said: “SafeZone’s adoption at the University of York is testament to how it can revolutionise the way education institutions manage their day-to-day security and safety operations, while ensuring a safer learning environment. SafeZone provides security teams and first responders with the right information quickly, to improve their ability to react to situations efficiently and appropriately. By providing an unobtrusive security application versus traditional physical security equipment, we’re empowering the University to mitigate risk and improve brand reputation through enhanced duty of care, while gaining significant efficiencies through the improved deployment of manned response teams.”
