The UNH Police Department has added a new tool to its crime fighting belt, a mobile app that instantly notifies users of dangers and emergencies wherever they are in the world.

Ping4 joins CrimePush, a mobile app developed by a UNH School of law student that allows students to anonymously report a crime.

Neither app will replace Roam Secure, the university’s mass notification system, but are additional tools to improve safety around campus. All students, faculty and staff are encouraged to sign up to receive the emergency alerts at https://alert.unh.edu/register.php.

Ping4 is the first app of its kind to allow law enforcement to alert citizens to a specific emergency or situation happening at the very moment and location those citizens happen to be. For example, a UNH student who downloads the app (there is no registration required) will receive emergency information related to campus, but when they travel home for the summer the emergency information will be related to that location. Ping4 also has a marketing/sales component but users can elect not to receive those.

UNH Police Chief Paul Dean noted that the Nashua and Manchester police departments are already using the app, so if students are at the Mall of New Hampshire and have downloaded the app they could receive notification of traffic delays, coming bad weather or other emergencies in that area.

“The tool allows our dispatchers to identify exactly who needs to receive information,” said Dean. “If something happens specific to a residence hall we can elect to only notify residents of that building. It also allows the department to proactively provide safety tips and public service announcements.”

CrimePush is an anonymous crime reporting tool that allows students to send a text message to dispatch rather than calling. Photos and video can also be attached.

“Students can send us information anonymously with this tool, but it allows us to pinpoint where the message came from within five feet using Google maps,” Dean said.

“New technology allows us to offer our community a variety of tools for keeping them and the campus safe,” Dean added.

View a video about how Ping4 works, featuring Dean: