OSU-Tulsa Offers New 'Cowboy Guardian' Safety App

Students and staff at the OSU Tulsa campus have a new high-tech way to stay safe. It's an app called Cowboy Guardian, that lets them get in touch with campus police quickly and allows police to pinpoint their exact location.

This is an app I would've liked to have had all those many years ago when I was in college. Not only does it let you get safely from point a to point b, there is also a panic button mode.

Students use the Guardian Security app to set a timer of how long it should take them to get from say, a parking lot into the bookstore. If they don't get there in that amount of time, an alarm goes off, and campus police can see the student's location in order to send an officer.

Monica Williams works in the IT department on the campus and often works late, so she signed up for the app. She sets the timer whenever she leaves the computer lab and goes to her car or even when she is taking a walk for exercise on her lunch hour.

When she makes it back okay, she deactivates the timer, but if she doesn't - because of a crime or a medical condition - she knows help is on the way. She can choose family and friends to see her timers as well.

"And dispatch is on the phone calling you to determine that everything is okay, and the way we find you is GPS location," said Chief Melvin Murdock, OSU Tulsa Chief of Police.

"It does give you peace of mind," said Monica Williams, OSU employee.

In addition, there is also a panic button that can be pushed in case of an emergency. Students and staff can also text police if they see something out of the ordinary, even take a picture and send it and officers will investigate.

The idea is be prepared.

"We don't think it will happen here but boy, it's sure a good idea to be ready," Chief Murdock said.

The app has only been available a couple of months and so far, 47 people have signed up for it.

OSU-Tulsa has about 2,500 students on campus and about 600 faculty and staff, and the OSU police department would like to see everyone of them sign up for Guardian Security.