OSPS Encourages Students To Download Champion Safe App

Liberty University’s campus has been flooded with posters and banners encouraging students to install the Champion Safe app on their smartphone with the intention of streamlining campus safety resources in one app.

The Champion Safe app has had over 8,150 downloads since its launch in May 2023 according to Senior Community Engagement Analyst John-Wesley Sloan.

Vice President of Security and Public Safety Marcus Tinsley worked to create the app alongside staff from Emergency Management & Community Engagement: Sloan, Director Jeff Hurtak, Associate Director Chris Chambers and Community Engagement Analyst and Training Coordinator Kate Edwards.

The team developed the program through App Armor and ensured the app provides numerous safety resources to students, faculty and guests on campus.

Tinsley said that Champion Safe provides “safety at your fingertips” because of all the resources made available to users. Some of these features include the Mobile BlueLight, Social Escape, Safe Ride and Virtual Walkhome.

Tinsley said one of the most important features offered in the app is the Mobile BlueLight because it provides the same service as the blue light boxes seen around campus; campus police will immediately be en route to the student’s location when they press “Trigger Mobile BlueLight.” 

The Social Escape feature provides students with the ability to leave an uncomfortable situation by creating a fake phone call and providing the student with a reason to leave. Sloan said the addition of the Social Escape feature in the app is important because there will always be situations in which someone needs a way out.

“We’re all in difficult situations throughout our lives, and this gives us a chance to deal with those situations in a way where we know that ‘Hey, I’m able to get out of this awkward situation,’” Sloan said.

In the event that an On-Demand Ride is unable to pick a student up who feels unsafe in their environment, the Safe Ride feature may be used. Tinsley said the Safe Ride should be a last resort because it takes away the number of officers available to respond to an emergency situation. If a student needs the Safe Ride, however, they can expect one to arrive within 10 minutes.

The Virtual Walkhome feature allows the Emergency Communications Center to monitor a student’s location as they travel from one place to the next. After tapping “Start Virtual Walkhome,” students are then able to click “Emergency” at any moment they feel unsafe during their travel. According to Sloan, there have been five occurrences where the Virtual Walkhome resource was used to redirect lost hikers back to trails and parking lots.

Users can also submit a crime tip on the Champion Safe app. Tinsley said the response time to the crime tips varies based on the severity of the situation but is usually within 24 hours at the latest. If the tip requires immediate action, however, users can expect officers to be dispatched within three minutes. 

Sloan and Tinsley both stressed the necessity of downloading the Champion Safe app. Sloan wants students to recognize that the Champion Safe app is not just another app to fill up space on a smartphone.   

“It is truly safety at your fingertips,” Sloan said. “We wouldn’t have it if it was a waste. It is a tool, and we’re asking students … to be partners with public safety in their own safety.”

Tinsley said the importance he sees in the Champion Safe app has been greatly influenced from looking at it through a parent’s perspective. He said the app provides a checklist for students of “what to do, when to do it and how to do it” in the event of a dangerous situation.

“What’s there to help you feel safe in that moment?” Tinsley said. “Because we all have those moments. That was our heart in getting this app — making sure that all of our community and the surrounding community … has a resource to help you through the most difficult situations that can come up.”

The Champion Safe app can be downloaded through the App Store and Google Play. For more information about campus safety, visit www.liberty.edu/security-public-safety.

Sturek is the on-campus news editor for the Liberty Champion.