LSUPD launched a new smartphone app Tuesday that promotes safer travel across campus and allows users to anonymously upload photos and videos of suspicious incidents and emergencies.
LSU SHIELD, available for both iOS and Android operating systems, displays three emergency call buttons for police, fire and EMS emergencies when activated and includes a “Safety Beacon” feature.
“The Safety Beacon feature of the app allows you to enter a location to which you are going and an approximate time you will arrive or return,” LSUPD wrote in its announcement. “At the designated time you have entered, the app will prompt you for your own individualized pin number of your choice.”
If the pin number is not entered at the designated time, text messages are sent to the user’s emergency contacts.
The “What should I do if…?” section of the app informs the user of the proper protocol for various emergency situations.
LSUPD spokesman Cory Lalonde said LSU SHIELD has been in development for roughly a year and a half and was inspired in part by other universities’ approaches to digital campus safety efforts. 
Lalonde said LSUPD purchased the app July 1 from software company 911 Cellular after working with University Student Government to secure funding.
“We don’t want people to have a false sense of security just because they have this app,” Lalonde said. “This is just another way for them to report it quicker.”