CrimeAn app alerts people, law enforcement about potential crime risk
You are walking home after a night out on a dark autumn evening. Suddenly, you get the feeling that someone is following you. You look over your shoulder, and see a shadow between the trees in the park. You quicken your steps. When you glance behind you again, you see the shadow disappear in between two houses. This is when you could press the “help” button on the app that you have downloaded. It sends a message to everyone in the area who also has the app, with information about your phone number and where you are. This way they are able to call you, alert emergency services, or get to your location if need be. The app has been developed by a group of student entrepreneurs.
You are walking home after a night out on a dark autumn evening. Suddenly, you get the feeling that someone is following you. You look over your shoulder, and see a shadow between the trees in the park. You quicken your steps. When you glance behind you again, you see the shadow disappear in between two houses.
This is when you could press the “help” button on the app that you have downloaded. It sends a message to everyone in the area who also has the app, with information about your phone number and where you are.
This way they are able to call you, alert emergency services, or get to your location if need be.
They will also be able to follow your movements on the map that appears on their phone.
Four Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) students are behind this newly launched app, called Flare.
“We want to start a network of users who can help each other, and by doing so, help make the world a little safer,” says Svein Grimholt. He is the brains behind the app, which he is developing while also studying Energy and Environmental Engineering at NTNU.
Idea during student festival
NTNU notes that Grimholt got the idea during the UKA student festival held in Trondheim two years ago. Every other year, ten thousand young people come together during the UKA festival to go to concerts and other large events. Many of these concerts are in a place called Dødens dal, a small volleyball and football field close to the university, which is located centrally in a highly developed area.
“Right near Dødens dal, there was a rape case, and an attempted rape.” he explains. “This got me thinking that in situations like that, there should be a way to alert people in the area to your need for help.”
And so the first seeds for the idea that became Flare were sown. Together with NTNU students Anders Hua and Jørgen Svennevik Notland from the School of Entrepreneurship, and Stian Sandø, a computer science student, he has developed Flare for both iOS and Android phones. A quick search of “Flare Help and be helped” should bring you to the right place. The app is free and has no ads.
