A Mobile Panic Button Emergency Alert App & First Responder App
The world our kids live in today is vastly different than the one we remember growing up. Things like playing outside unsupervised or walking to school alone are no longer a big part of childhood. One of the biggest changes we’ve seen as a society is the need for greater safety, especially when danger can happen anywhere, at any time.
To create better safety in our schools, workplaces, churches, and public areas, Swip Systems and the Guard911 team created the Guard911 mobile panic button emergency alert apps and the Hero911 Network law enforcement app.
Guard911 panic button apps and the Hero911 Network empower teachers, co-workers, and law enforcement officers in active shooter and armed intruder incidents. These mobile apps provide immediate emergency help with the touch of a smartphone screen.
The Challenge – Reduce Law Enforcement Notification Time in Active Shooter or Intruder Emergencies
For schools across the country, having a workable crisis and armed intruder action plan has historically been a big concern. School staff has not had the resources to improve students’ and faculty safety when an armed intruder enters the school.
Unfortunately, the number of active shooters is increasing every year, with the average workplace or school shooting lasting less than 5 minutes. When this occurs, most people are under the impression that when they call 911, law enforcement will be there in minutes. While this may be true in some cases, it is not always possible.
In school shooting incidents, research shows mere seconds shaved off of law enforcement response times save lives. Therefore, our challenge was to empower school staff by developing an app that would significantly reduce law enforcement notification time, thereby reducing response times, so more people could be saved.
The Solution – A Mobile Panic Button in the Hands of School Staff and Law Enforcement
The Hero911 Network and Guard911 started as two ideas to improve the response time of law enforcement in the event of school shootings. Our team at Swip Systems worked with law enforcement officers to create:
- A transmitter app for teachers and faculty, called SchoolGuard, to notify police officers of emergencies and simultaneously dial 911.
- A receiver app, Hero911, to instantly notify law enforcement officers of in-school emergencies.
In addition, we utilized custom web development to create a fully functional site to manage the services.
Our software engineers learned that in some cases, a conventional phone call to 911 took nearly a minute and a half before police could respond to a school shooting. This was due to routing the call to the proper authorities and notifying nearby officers.
To speed officer response time to these incidents, the Guard911 and Hero911 apps evolved to include:
- SchoolGuard, a one-touch smartphone panic button app that notifies all on and off-duty police officers within proximity of a school shooting through the Hero911 app.
- A display of the mapped address and number of officers responding to the alert.
- Simultaneous speed dialing of 911 and sending emergency notifications to all faculty and staff in the school who have SchoolGuard installed, with geo-data showing the location of the initial alert.
- A customized web portal for school officials to sign up for and manage their Guard911 account.
- A location within the Guard911 portal to upload an active shooter emergency response plan and view the plan in the app.
- Customized web services that provide a secure vetting process to approve all law enforcement access to the Hero911 app. Law enforcement officers approve all submissions.
“Swip Systems helped us build an amazing, life-saving mobile platform.” – Nate McVicker, Founder & President, Guard911
The Result – Saving Lives!
Swip Systems helped a life-saving mobile app idea become a reality, one that is helping officers intervene more quickly if a school shooting or another type of threat occurs.
Numerous schools and law enforcement officials around the country have adopted the Guard911 technology with open arms, downloading and installing Hero911 and Guard911 on their mobile devices. News and media coverage has also been amazing. There is proof SchoolGuard and Hero911 are helping to save lives.
If you know of any schools that are in need of such technology, or if you know a law enforcement officer, please send them these links to the app store for more information.
- SchoolGuard in the Apple App Store
- SchoolGuard in the Google Play Store
- Hero911 in the Apple App Store
- Hero911 in the Google Play Store
Swip Systems & Mobile App Development
If you have an app idea but you’re not sure where to start, Swip Systems is here to help. We love to brainstorm ideas, guide you in the app development process, and help your software product get to market faster. Just drop us a note in the contact us page or call 877.377.SWIP for a no-obligation conversation.
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