The Rave Panic Button is a new phone app that’s being implemented statewide in Arkansas schools this fall. The app is suppose to be useful in emergencies such as a fire, police, or a button that involves an active shooter on the campus. It was made by Rave Mobile Safety of Framing, Massachusetts, to alert every employee and the police.

The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management made a $950,00 contract with Rave Mobile Safety to get the program launched. The app just launched on September 1, 2015 and there have already been accidental pushings of the button.

I believe that the app is a good concept and can provide some major help for the schools. Even though there have been accidents with it already, I think the app needs to stay. Coming from a student’s perspective, it makes me feel safer that there is a quick way to alert authorities if someone were to barge in the school with a firearm.

I do however think that the app could use an upgrade to where it cannot be triggered in error. I could see where people are saying that accidental pushes cause too much hysteria, but they can always fix that problem. Your child’s safety should be worth more to you than worrying about accidental pushes on the button. Those things could help people experience how it would be if the button was actually pushed.

Since the app lets responders automatically have the school’s floor plan, the locations of the emergency exits, and key evacuation procedures, it’s really beneficial to every employee so they can get their students out safely.