RowanSafe: Rowan University Police Department launches app to enhance campus safety

The Rowan University Police Department has launched a new safety app to provide a one-stop shop for safety resources.

Titled RowanSafe, the free app is available on the Apple and Google app stores through the App Armor service. Users can type in RowanSafe to find the app on the app store.

RowanSafe allows users to report an emergency, initiate a mobile blue light activation in real time or send a tip to police directly from their cellular device. It also allows users to request a virtual walk home from campus police or to share their location with a friend.

A virtual walk home request will allow campus police to monitor users as they navigate campus, ensuring they arrive safely. Sharing a location with a friend will give a friend the ability to monitor a user’s movement to a specific location. In case of a crisis, both the virtual walk home and the location sharing with a friend give the user the ability to immediately make an emergency call with a simple push of a button in case

“Being safe requires an on-going commitment from everyone in our campus community,” says Michael Kantner, Assistant Vice President of Public Safety and Emergency Management. “The RowanSafe app gives us another tool as we work continuously to enhance the health, safety and welfare of everyone at Rowan.”

The RowanSafe app supplements the RAVE Rowan Alert messaging system. The Rowan Alert system will remain in effect.

With a robust interface, RowanSafe also includes safety notifications when on-campus emergencies occur, lists up-to-date information on parking resources and provides information on what to do in case of an emergency.

Additionally, the app lists a host of support services available to the campus community—from academic support to information on reporting a sexual assault to student physical and mental health services, and beyond.

RowanSafe also includes shuttle service information, as well as maps and police contact numbers for all Rowan campuses.

“We’re encouraging every member of the Rowan community to download RowanSafe and become familiar with its services,” says Steve Rolando, Director of Rowan’s Office of Emergency Management. “The app provides a tremendous amount of information that can help community members in any emergency.”

The Rowan University Police Department, which includes 35 sworn police officers serving campuses in Glassboro and Stratford, has been a leader in law enforcement and public safety excellence for decades.

In 2011, it was the first department at a college or university in New Jersey to earn advanced law enforcement accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA). The department has earned CALEA re-accreditation four times, which is unprecedented in New Jersey. CALEA accreditation requires departments to adhere to the same standards as the finest law enforcement agencies in the nation.

Rowan Police also is accredited by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. In 2015, the department was the first at a state college or university to require officers to wear body cameras.