By: Chelsea Jordan
Photo by: Bill Braun
A new smartphone application will allow students to connect to University police through live video and audio with the goal of increasing student safety and access to police help.
A computer science professor, Dr. Ashok Agrawala, developed the M-Urgency application in connection with the University Police Department and the Office of Information Technology. The application will connect to a smartphone’s camera when a user needs emergency assistance and will send live information to a university police dispatcher, according to the M-Urgency website.
M-Urgency would only work on the University of Maryland, College Park campus and can only be used by registered students, staff and faculty, according to the website.
Junior accounting major Taara Fardanesh says she often feels unsafe on campus and carries pepper spray for protection. She thinks this application would help her feel more secure.
“I wouldn’t use it often, but I think there is always a case where this is necessary,” Fardanesh said. “If it could help one person then I think it is a good idea.”
Fardanesh said she thought it might also help police in documenting crimes and identifying suspects if they could be captured on film.
One problem the application might face is whether students will actually use it. With emergency light phones located around campus and dialing 911 as other options, the application might have trouble finding users.
“I don’t know if students would embrace it,” said Julian Ragland, a sophomore government and politics major. “Nobody wants to call the police.” Ragland noted that M-Urgency would leave out students who don’t have smartphones.
One of the main advantages to the application will be its ability to give police more information on a student’s location in an emergency.
“Police will b
e able to respond to the scene more quickly if they know the person’s exact location,” said junior journalism major Claire Yan. “It’s helpful, especially if the person calling is drunk and lost somewhere late at night.”
The application is now in testing phases and is only available on Android version 2.2 and higher phones. The application is expected to be expanded to other smartphones in the future.
