Empowering safety

Category: Community Impact Innovation and Research Student Success

A person is standing outside looking at their phone.

Ed Burns, lead public safety officer at Truro Campus had an idea to create an app that could enhance safety for those in danger. Now, NSCC students are leading the way in bringing that idea to life.

Students develop safety app to combat human trafficking

What started as an idea to develop safety plans for students, has quickly turned into a tangible app with the potential to save lives.

According to Statistics Canada, Nova Scotia had the highest average annual rate of police-reported human trafficking from 2011-2021. Ed Burns, lead public safety officer at Truro Campus, was concerned about the increase in human trafficking in Nova Scotia, especially as Truro is an area considered the ‘hub’ for those being trafficked out of the province. That’s when he had the idea to create an app where those in danger could instantly alert a safe contact that they’re in need.

A person is standing inside looking outside with a phone in their hand.

With IT Web Programming taught at the campus, Ed knew he wouldn’t need to look far to find someone interested in developing the app. He engaged Sean Morrow, IT Web Programming faculty who presented the concept as a capstone project to his class.

A capstone project is one of 12 experiential learning experiences available to NSCC students in core programs. Capstone students take part in an in-depth research project that’s connected to an industry problem or need related to their field of study and gain hands-on experience in developing tangible community solutions.

99% of programs have work-integrated learning opportunities to provide students with meaningful learning outside of the classroom.

Source: NSCC Institutional Research

Students inspired by app's potential to save lives

This has the potential to save lives,” says Ed, who is also on the advisory committee for community awareness with the Elizabeth Fry Society. To receive funding and consulting support, Ed presented the idea to Stephanie Atwood, executive director of ElevateHER, who immediately saw the value in the app.

It didn’t take long for students to see the valuable app development experience they could gain from this project. Brandon Roy, Man Ching Ngi and Juan Roldan quickly joined forces, developing the app as their final project in their program.

“The fact that this could actually save lives really pushed us to develop the best app we could,” says Juan, who graduated in June from the IT Web Programming program. “If it saves one life then it was entirely worth it.” The three students, now NSCC graduates, all plan to continue working on the app they’ve called SafetyNet, as it moves into its next stage of development.

SafetyNet is currently in the beta testing stage with the goal to launch to various app stores in the near future.

How it works

When a user downloads the app, they add their personal information and identify ‘safe contacts’ who will receive alerts if the user signals they’re in danger. When the user opens the app, a text message including GPS coordinates are sent to the safe contacts. Users can share updated photos of themselves and record six seconds of video that also sends to their safe contacts.

With the app open, every five seconds the GPS location is sent to the safe contacts. The automatic updates save to the cloud, removing the risk of losing the evidence if the phone were to be destroyed.

It’s designed so the safe contact can call the police on behalf of the user with accurate information, and with the ability to use the images, video and GPS coordinates as evidence in court.

“You don’t need a data plan, minutes or service to use SafetyNet,” explains Juan. “We’re making this app as accessible as possible for anyone who’s in need of help.”

“We’re in talks with the police to have them listed as a safe contact for anyone interested,” says Brandon, IT Web Programming graduate. “The response from local authorities has been incredibly positive.”

A person is walking down a pathway outside of a glass building.

Helping those trafficked and beyond

The concept behind SafetyNet originated from Ed’s concern in the increasing rates of human trafficking and domestic violence in the province. It took no time for Stephanie, founder of ElevateHER, to see the value in the concept and jump on board. ElevateHER helps raise awareness and prevention for human trafficking in Atlantic Canada.

“There’s nearly a 50 per cent increase in reported human trafficking cases in Nova Scotia since 2019,” explains Stephanie.

“People are afraid to call 911 or ask for help. Often the opportunity to do this just doesn’t exist. The goal of SafetyNet is to fill that gap by being accessible and prompt.”

“The app has turned into something that can be used beyond domestic violence and human trafficking. If you’re hiking, fall and can’t get up, you can open the app and alert your safe contact you’re in trouble. Maybe you’re walking alone and being followed,” says Juan. “The app has a simple premise but its potential is endless.”

Trials, testing and next steps

SafetyNet is currently undergoing its first stage of testing, utilizing community feedback to enhance its efficiency. The three students submitted the functional app before graduating from NSCC and have continued working with Ed and Stephanie to move the app forward.

“With time and funding, I’d like to see this app go global for anyone to use,” says Ed.

“Human trafficking is a global issue.” The app has been trialed by nearly 70 users so far and the team hopes to launch it to various app stores soon. The SafetyNet team is looking to offer this project to Sean’s IT Web Programming students for the 2023-24 academic year to be able to involve more students in furthering the app development.