An app, called SafeZone, designed to allow on-campus security to be more accessible will be the first of its kind to be introduced in the UK, a move which has been labelled as “forward thinking”.
Speaking on BBC Radio York, David Duncan, the University Registrar and Secretary, explained how the app works and said: “York will be the first university in the UK to introduce it.”
He said: “It’s not that we think the campus is unsafe, in fact this is one of the safest places in Britain to study and to live.
“We have lots of students here, particularly from overseas, who need that reassurance and we also have lots of staff, who are lone workers at odd times of the day and night, and to be able to contact security quickly is a great help.”
When questioned on how much the university had invested in the Australian-developed app, Duncan described it as “not a huge sum”.
The app, available for Android, iOS and Windows mobile platforms, was rolled out across campus last Thursday and allows students to contact the campus security office 24/7 if they feel unsafe whilst on the campus.