North Dakota State University Launches Student Safety App with GPS Tracking Features

9 Jun 2015

The Police and Safety Office at North Dakota State University, or NDSU, is using a smartphone app with GPS tracking in a new pilot program. They are testing the app among students and teachers with the objective of improving security.

Called Pathlight, the app lets dispatchers at the school track a user on monitors at the Police Communications Call Center when the user triggers a safety assist indicator. One of its most common uses is when a student needs to walk across a dark campus by herself late at night.

Ongoing Safety Measures

The app is the latest in ongoing security measures available at the school. It complements the Campus Security Escort Service started in 1992.

Safety concerns mounted on campus after an attack in late December 2014 involving kidnap and rape of three students.

The school also has training in safety and security available to students, teachers and staff throughout the year.

How It Works

Pathlight has been integrated into the other NDSU security systems. If a user signals she wants to be tracked, the system is able to connect her photo with the tracking so officers know what the user looks like if an alarm is sounded.

In addition, users can send an alarm silently, so an attacker doesn’t even know that security personnel are on their way to the scene. The GPS tracking feature lets officers locate the user’s phone, where the app is installed, at any point between the time help is requested and when she reaches her destination.

Using the app is simple. The person with the smartphone logs her destination and the amount of time she estimates it will take her to arrive, then clicks “Follow Me Now.” The dispatcher can remotely watch the location of the phone during the trip.

If the user doesn’t arrive at her destination by the estimated time, an alarm is sounded at the dispatcher’s monitor, who has the information about the trip instantly available.

In case of an emergency, the user can call police with a single touch. They can also initiate a silent alarm with a simple swipe of the finger.

Privacy Respected

Privacy concerns have been addressed. Using the service and downloading the app is entirely voluntary. The user can easily disable the tracking any time she chooses.

NDSU emphasizes that the officers who monitor trips and emergencies are primarily concerned with the safety of the student.


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