Examining Interactions Between Community Members and University Safety Organizations through Community-Sourced Risk Systems

DOI

An increasing number of safety departments in organizations across the U.S. are offering mobile apps that allow their local community members to report potential risks, such as hazards, suspicious events, ongoing incidents, and crimes. These ``community-sourced risk'' systems are designed for the safety departments to take action to prevent or reduce the severity of situations that may harm the community. However, little is known about the actual use of such community-sourced risk systems from the perspective of both community users and the safety departments. This study examines how community users report incidents through mobile apps for help and how safety departments utilize the systems to serve their community members. More specifically, we conducted a comprehensive system log analysis of community-sourced risk systems that were used by safety departments and students at more than 200 American colleges and universities. Our findings revealed a mismatch between what the safety departments expected to receive and what their community members actually reported, and identified several factors (e.g., anonymity of the tip, organization, tip type) that were associated with the safety departments' effective responsiveness to community members' tips. Our findings provide both new design and practical implications for more effective use of community-sourced risk systems for community safety.