The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department launched a new app, BadgerSAFE, on Aug. 1 to provide on- and off-campus students and faculty with safety information and resources.
The app will provide users with emergency procedure contact information, a “safety toolbox” and a live chat with a UWPD dispatcher, among other features. Campuswide WiscAlerts will also be sent through the app.
Marc Lovicott, UWPD director of communications, said the app won’t replace existing safety measures students may know — like walking companion service SAFEwalk — but is instead designed to complement existing services. For example, the app’s homepage can connect users directly to a SAFEwalk companion.
SAFEwalk representatives said they were excited about the collaboration and referred to the app as a “one-stop shop” for safety resource information.
“[BadgerSAFE] is a great way both to spread awareness about SAFEwalk as a service, and make the service easier to use,” a spokesperson from Transportation Services told The Daily Cardinal.
WiscGuardian, UWPD’s prior safety app, became “obsolete” with technological advances over recent years, according to UWPD Emergency Management Director Suzanne Brandt. That app launched in 2017 and has been replaced by BadgerSAFE.
Some aspects of WiscGuardian are implemented in BadgerSAFE. One example is “Friend Walk,” which allows selected friends or family members to track a user’s walking location and use the calling feature to alert authorities through the app if necessary.
Madee Hickman, a freshman at UW-Madison, is glad the app will be available at all hours because she could only use SAFEwalk during the program's late-night hours.
“I find comfort [in BadgerSAFE] because there’s still weirdos out during the day before SAFEwalk opens,” Hickman said.
The app’s launch came about a month before a female UW-Madison student was assaulted and left in critical condition early Sunday morning near W. Wilson Street. The Madison Police Department and UWPD are investigating the assault and have not yet made an arrest.
Slight increases in battery, assault and stalking are reflected in UWPD’s current 60-day crime log, from five instances of crimes within those categories reported in July to 14 in Aug.
Lovicott did not say whether the app launch was tied to specific trends in UW-Madison crime data.
