All University staff and students have access to SafeZone – a free app that quickly connects you with the University Security team.
Colleagues find SafeZone useful in a number of different situations, including if you or someone else needs first aid, you feel unsafe on campus, to report suspicious activity, or to access wellbeing support.
But did you know you can also use SafeZone to check-in while working late or on your own on campus? Many staff use the feature to let the Security Team know where they are in a building.
Checking in on SafeZone ensures that if you do need urgent help or medical aid, members of the Security Team know not only that you’re still on campus after hours or working on your own, but also where you are, so they can get to you quickly in an emergency.
Aberdeen University Students Association President, Christina Schmid, has previously used SafeZone to check-in with Security when working after hours.
She explains: “I have used SafeZone in the past when I was alone in the office and wanted Security to know I was still there. It was before Union Brew was open until 8pm, so I was the last person (as far as I am aware) in the building. It felt safer to let someone know that I am there.
“It made me feel reassured that even though I might still not feel entirely comfortable working alone at night, it does give me the feeling that someone is aware of my location and I can rely on another person to check-in with me.”
Christina doesn’t lone work or work late regularly, but for staff who are out and about alone on campus regularly or whose contracted hours are outside of 9am to 5pm, the check-in function on SafeZone may be particularly useful.
Christina says: “I just open the app, press the check-in button and once I leave to go home, I check out. It takes less than five seconds.”
Staff can also enable the ‘automatic check-in’ setting, which will flag you as checked in to Security colleagues when you enter campus. You can turn this on in your settings in the app.
Christina concludes: “I would really recommend staff and students use SafeZone when working late or alone. It takes close to zero effort to use it and in case of emergency or anything happening, it is definitely worth using it. Even though I never had the experience of anything actually happening, the reassurance and perception of safety it provides is worth it.”
To find out more about the benefits of using SafeZone, you can visit the webpage and also watch the video.