In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, safety is the most important to us just after physiological needs. A student cannot do his or her best work when they are worried about their own wellbeing on campus. While American River College is already a safe campus to begin with—according to recent campus crime reports—the Los Rios Community College District released a new and improved version of their safety app with more resources for students and faculty.
According to a post on the official ARC Facebook page on September 24, the new app, SAFE Los Rios, replaces the previous app called RAVE Guardian. This new SAFE app is available as a desktop alert, in addition to a mobile app. There are new features such as a panic button that alerts the Los Rios Police Department, request an escort that will walk someone to their destination on campus, location sharing with friends, anonymous crime tips and safety procedures.
“The app has more functional, modern tools for modern students,” said Taylor Toledo, ARC’s public information officer.
Essentially, the Los Rios district is interested in taking the safety of their campuses to the next level due to the new and advanced features of this app. While it’s impossible to foresee all possible threats, this helps to close the gap on any potential dangers or issues. The good thing is, students at ARC generally tend to feel safe on campus to start with.
“Everything has been good so far,” said sophomore Rosa Perez of her experience with safety at ARC.
During the years 2021-23, there have been only five counts of criminal offenses, all of which non-violent, according to the Los Rios Police Department’s Clery Report. Despite this, ARC is taking a proactive approach to campus safety by preemptively improving safety where possible, rather than waiting for something bad to happen to make improvements. After all, prevention is better than a cure. The reason this app exists in the first place is that ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, many students and professors are involved in hybrid courses, and some are entirely remote. The SAFE app is intended to help to keep the community interconnected and the communication streamlined.
“[The police department makes] a really concerted effort to make sure everyone feels safe,” said Toledo. “Officers routinely circle campus.”
This effort by campus police is so they can make sure everything is running smoothly. As a result, students can access services quickly and easily, if need be. Another service that not many students know about, according to Toledo, is that the campus police can also help with jumpstarting and unlocking vehicles. Additionally, campus police can walk students to their car if they feel unsafe or if it’s dark outside. In general, they are considered to be the go-to people to ask whenever anyone on campus needs help, assistance or protection. More information about the app can be found on the Los Rios Police Department website.
