��������

Students, employees and visitors to Western’s campus now have a new tool when it comes to safety, as the University Police Department brings the LiveSafe app to campus.

The offers students and employees the ability to request help from local emergency services or university police, access campus resources and maps, and report suspicious activity or safety issues on campus – all within one app.

“The name says it all,” Assistant Director of Public Safety Keith Williams said. “It gives us an opportunity to give a broader level of security on campus, off campus, 24 hours a day. It’s always being monitored, and since it’s an app, it’s always with you.”

One of the features that officials hope will be helpful to students is the SafeWalk feature, which allows users to invite friends to virtually walk them to a destination by following their progress on a map, whether they’re heading home from a late-night study session or from a shift at work.

“Now you’re not really by yourself,” Williams said. “It’s a layer of safety.”

The LiveSafe app can provide a way to get help for students who don’t know who to contact during a crisis or an emergency. It is also a way for students to report vandalism or something happening on campus that they might not have been comfortable reporting otherwise, with the option to report anonymously or using the name attached to the account.

Emergency options available in the app include calling 911, calling campus police or messaging campus police through a chat feature, and users can opt to share their location with campus police if they need assistance. Students also can request a safety escort while they’re walking if they feel unsafe.

The app also offers a collection of campus resources all in one place, including a campus directory, campus map, parking services, WTA transit information, general visitor information and links to inclement weather information.

The LiveSafe app is available to download for free in app stores.