Personal security system
A method for providing assistance to each of a plurality of users, each having been enrolled as a member of a community includes receiving, at a server, communications from corresponding mobile devices, each of which is associated with a user who has enrolled as a member in a first community. These emergency communications were initiated by activation of respective personal security buttons on the mobile devices, and provide information about respective security conditions. In response to the communications, the server alerts corresponding first and second security services that are appropriate responding to the respective security conditions.
1. A method comprising receiving, at a server, a communication concerning a mobile device associated with a first user from a plurality of users, each of whom has been enrolled as a member of a community from a set of communities, said first user having been enrolled as a member of a first community in said plurality of communities, said message being indicative of said first user having initiated an at-risk interval, said server having been configured to initiate communication with security services associated with each community in said set of communities, causing said server to inform a first security service that said first user has initiated said at-risk interval, said first security service being associated with said first community, and on an ongoing basis, providing said first security service with location information indicative of a location of said mobile device, whereby said security service maintains a display showing a location of said first mobile device as said first mobile device travels.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to providing said location information, receiving information granting permission to provide said location information.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing, to said security service, information indicative of a concentration of said users in a particular area.
4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising, in response to having received said information indicative of said concentration, dispatching a patrol to said particular area.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first mobile device is located at a location, wherein said method further comprises transmitting at least some information received by said first security service to a second security service, wherein said second security service has jurisdiction over said location, wherein said location is beyond the jurisdiction of said first security service.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, based on a log of historical information that identifies areas at which users initiate at-risk intervals.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving, at said server, a communication concerning a mobile device associated with a first user comprises receiving said message from said mobile device.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising causing said server to receive enrollment information from said first user.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sharing said location information with other members of said first community.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first security service to be a campus police department.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first mobile device is located at a location, wherein said method further comprises transmitting at least some information received by said first security service to a police department associated with said location, wherein said location is a location that is outside of a college campus of said first community.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, at said server, determining that said first user is a member of said first community, receiving a second communication from a second mobile device associated with a second user, determining that said second user is a member of a second community that differs from said first community and initiating communication with a security service associated with said second community.
13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, at said server, determining that said first user is a member of said first community, wherein said security service associated with said first community is a first campus police department and said security service associated with said second community is a second campus police department.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first community is a college having a campus.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first community is a college having a campus and wherein said first community is a college having a campus and wherein said location of said first mobile device is outside said campus.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein said communities are not associated with a geographical area.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein said communities have overlapping geographic areas.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving, at said server, a communication concerning a mobile device associated with a first user comprises receiving said message from other than said mobile device.
19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising causing said server to receive enrollment information from said first community.