Georgia Tech’s third annual campus safety day is planned for Friday, February 10. The Georgia Tech Police Department (GTPD) has planned activities across campus to remind students, faculty and staff to keep their personal safety top of mind as well as to take an active role in keeping the campus safe.

As part of safety day activities, there will be demonstrations by GTPD’s K-9 unit along with Segway demonstrations by members of the Ambassadors Force of Downtown Atlanta. GTPD officers will also be on hand to answer questions from students, and information booths will include representatives from Emergency Preparedness, the Georgia Tech Equestrian Team and others.

One of GTPD’s newest safety tools, Sky Cop, will also be deployed and demonstrated. Sky Cop, purchased through a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, is a mobile surveillance system designed to strategically monitor locations around campus.

“Safety is our top priority, and this annual event allows us to showcase some of the tools that we use to help protect campus,” said Georgia Tech Police Chief Teresa Crocker. “We depend on students, faculty and staff to be our partners in keeping the campus community safe by immediately reporting when they see something that appears to be out of place or suspicious.”

To emphasize the importance of this partnership, GTPD launched an educational campaign modeled after the national “See Something, Say Something” initiative to encourage individuals to take an active role in the safety and well-being of the campus by reporting dangerous or suspicious activity. 

In addition, GTPD is urging students to sign up for Jacket Guardian, the new mobile safety tool. The system, provided free of charge, utilizes Smart 911 and GPS technology to enhance police response.

Jacket Guardian subscribers can voluntarily opt in and share critical information that can only be accessed by public safety officials in an emergency when users activate the alarm from their phones. Before traveling from one place to another, such as walking home at night, users can also activate the system’s timer on their mobile device. If the timer expires (or the user hits the panic button), GTPD is notified immediately.

“The implementation of these new tools, combined with the cooperation and involvement of the entire Georgia Tech community, remain essential ingredients in creating and maintaining a safe community for everyone,” said Crocker.