On the 14th, Unicamp launched an application for mobile devices (Android and IOS systems) called Panic Button. The tool allows users linked to the University to quickly activate the Barão Geraldo Campus Surveillance system in situations considered to be emergencies. In preliminary tests, the average response time for responding to incidents was five minutes. Along with the Panic Button, the Bidirectional Communication Channel with the university community was also launched. The two initiatives are part of the actions of the Campus Tranquilo program, under the responsibility of the General Coordination of the University (CGU).

The rector José Tadeu Jorge participated in the tool launch ceremony; the general coordinator of Unicamp, Alvaro Penteado Crósta; the executive vice-rector of Administration, Oswaldo da Rocha Grassiotto; and the Vice-Rector of Research, Gláucia Pastore. According to Alvaro Crósta, investment in initiatives aimed at increasing the security of the university community and visitors is one of the University's concerns.

The proposal, pointed out the general coordinator, was already included in the management program formulated at the time of the rector selection process. Alvaro Crósta stated that Unicamp decided to develop the Panic Button after extensive discussion with the internal community. “This is a creative solution, which involved the work and commitment of many people, from different units and bodies at the University”, he added. The technical part was developed by professionals from the Computing Center (CCUEC).

To use the Panic Button, the interested party must access a play store and download the application, which is free. You will then have to fill out a registration form with your personal and functional data, such as registration, place of work and cell phone number, if you are a professor or employee at Unicamp. Students must fill in their academic registration number. Once the application has been validated, the person will only need to open it to tap the Panic Button, which is colored red.

As soon as the tool is activated, an audible signal is emitted at the monitoring center. Then, an attendant will identify the location of the distress call on the control panel and call the nearest security guard via radio. In the meantime, the attendant will also try to contact the user via cell phone, to try to obtain additional information about the incident.

The Panic Button can also be used when the user is outside the campus. In this case, however, the tool will offer the option of calling the Military Police, for example. The application has a feature that records information about each request, such as day, location, type of incident and name of the guard called. This set of data will help evaluate the application, as well as assist in planning new actions in the security area.

Rector José Tadeu Jorge recalled that the rates of violence recorded on the Barão Geraldo campus are much lower than those in Barão Geraldo and Campinas. According to him, Unicamp still remains committed to the search for new solutions to increase the safety of members of the internal community and visitors. “We have to work so that the violence rate is zero. Is this a utopia? Probably yes. But there is no more suitable place to have utopias than the University. With the launch of this application, Unicamp shows that it is capable of finding ways to move towards this objective”, he considered.

BIDIRECTIONAL CHANNEL

Along with the Panic Button, the Bidirectional Communication Channel with the university community was also launched, hosted on the Unicamp Citizen Information Service (SIC) website. The tool is made up of two features. One of them is a chat, through which anyone can contact the University and request information about the institution. The service operates from Monday to Friday, from 7:00 am to 17:30 pm. In-person and telephone service continues to operate normally.

The other facility is a news area, through which interested parties can submit, for dissemination, information that they consider to be of general interest to the university community. The objective of the measure is to facilitate communication between faculty, staff and students with the University and vice versa.

(Manuel Alves Filho)