United States Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) visited Sacred Heart University on Wednesday as a way to call on the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice to adopt an innovative technology, recently launched by Sacred Heart, that is believed will help reduce sexual assaults and other crimes on campuses.
Murphy says the university’s Smartphone application, called SHU Safe, created to combat campus sexual assault, should be used as a model for other colleges nationwide to reduce sexual assault. The app cost Sacred Heart approximately $9,000 to produce. Since its rollout in late September, nearly 1,000 students have downloaded the app. That’s approximately one third of the student population.
Earlier this week, Murphy sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education’s Secretary, Arne Duncan, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, requesting that they work with schools across the country to develop and test the SHU technology on their campuses.
SHU Safe, which is available to both iPhone and Android users, offers quick access to campus emergency services, the ability to anonymously report suspicious activity, and one-push safety check-ins between users. The SHU Safe app can pinpoint where an individual is inside a building on campus, helping emergency workers reach those in need even faster.
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