Arlington Hts. police partner with maker of safety app
The Arlington Heights Police Department is teaming with app maker LifeLine Response to bring police work into the mobile age by offering a way for residents and visitors to call for help just by taking their thumb off their phone.
"The partnership will put the latest mobile safety technology in the hands of residents, business owners, students, as well as visitors of Arlington Heights," according to a news release from the village.
LifeLine Response is a Chicago-based company started by Arlington Heights resident Peter Cahill. The company approached the Arlington Heights Police Department about the partnership.
One component of the app can turn a user's phone into a panic button or alarm, said Sgt. Richard Boyle.
If the user is walking through a dark park or garage, or otherwise feels threatened, he or she can start the app and place a thumb on the phone. If the thumb is removed for any reason, an alarm will go off and a call center will dial the user's phone to ask if the person is OK, Boyle said.
If the user doesn't answer, the app will notify the Arlington Heights Police Department to respond to a possible crime with the GPS location of the phone in question. Anyone who does respond will be required to enter a password to deactivate the alarm and call off the response.
Users also will provide a physical description of themselves when registering with the app so officers arriving on the scene will know what to look for, Boyle said.
For nonemergency situations, the app provides residents a way to alert police about issues such as broken traffic signals or traffic backups without calling the police department,
The app already is in use on a few college campuses across the country. LifeLine Response has saved nine people from attacks nationwide, according to the village.
"We're not telling citizens and everyone that they have to sign up for it, but it's just another safety component that we can give out for the community," Boyle said.
The Lifeline Response app is available for download on iPhone and Android. It is free for the first 30 days, then costs $4.99 monthly.
The company last year said it hoped to add a fleet of drones to respond to emergencies, but Boyle said that will not be part of what is available in Arlington Heights.
Boyle couldn't discuss what costs were involved for the police department in the partnership.
"If it gives us the opportunity to get more information out to the citizens and keep them safer, then we're OK with that," he said.