Jacket Guardian FAQ
What is Jacket Guardian?
Georgia Tech recently acquired the Rave Mobile Safety “Guardian” and “Smart911” services (www.ravemobilesafety.com) to enhance public safety communication with Georgia Tech students, faculty, and staff. Jacket Guardian allows cellphone users to make an emergency call directly to the Georgia Tech Police Department (GTPD), and provides a proactive “timer” feature that allows students, faculty, and staff to send an alert to the police if the timer expires.
What is Smart911 and how does it differ from Jacket Guardian?
With Georgia Tech’s campus located in the middle of Midtown Atlanta, 911 call routing involves close cooperation with the
City of Atlanta, particularly since Atlanta’s 911 Center is the backup for the GTPD. To provide enhanced information to public
safety personnel, Atlanta 911 and Georgia Tech have acquired the Smart911 system. Currently, all 911 calls made from cellphones
located in the Atlanta area are routed to the Atlanta 911 Center. Calls made from the Georgia Tech campus are then transferred
back to Georgia Tech’s 911 Center. The Jacket Guardian features allow Georgia Tech cellphone users to call Georgia Tech’s 911
Center directly, allowing the GTPD to respond more quickly. Smart911 also allows the enhanced information from Smart911 to be
transferred with the 911 calls from Atlanta to the GTPD.
Jacket Guardian is an opt-in system that enables users’ profile information to appear in the Atlanta, or any, Smart911 center.
Current Georgia Tech students, faculty, and staff should complete the Jacket Guardian profile, while other affiliates and
Atlanta residents should sign up via Smart911.
What is GT911 and how does it differ from Jacket Guardian?
GT911 is an iPhone App that allows you to manage the timer feature, contains a direct link to your Guardian Profile (after it has been created), and an emergency button that you can use to call the GT Police Department.
How is my privacy protected?
Any data submitted through Jacket Guardian web applications is encrypted to protect user privacy. Coordinated by Rave Mobile Safety, the systems provide location-based tracking to cellphone users calling the GTPD or the City of Atlanta. Jacket Guardian underwent extensive testing to ensure reliability and privacy and has been reviewed by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officers and the National Emergency Number Association. Both Jacket Guardian and Smart911 protect personal information and ensure it is shared only with the first responders and only when they need it. Individual profiles are only visible when a call is made to the Jacket Guardian number or 911. Public safety operators are unable to search the system to look for specific people.
Can Jacket Guardian/Smart911 track me?
Jacket Guardian and Smart911 have the capability to allow public safety responders to locate your approximate location when you place a Jacket Guardian 911 call. Jacket Guardian and Smart911 cannot be used to locate you without your knowledge. Your profile and location are only available to first responders and public safety officials when you call 911 or the Jacket Guardian number.
Does Jacket Guardian/Smart911 work off-campus?
When you dial 911 from a campus landline telephone, it will always go to the GTPD and Georgia Tech’s 911 Center. If you dial 911 from a cellphone on campus, it will always go to the City of Atlanta, who will then transfer the caller back to the GTPD. If you use the Jacket Guardian phone number, panic button, or timer feature from your cellphone, it will always go to the GTPD directly.
What should I include in my profile?
The more information you provide, the more public safety officials can determine if they need to assist you in an emergency.
At a minimum, your physical description and a recent photo are great places to start. If you have a particular health issue
or other personal safety concerns, you can include that information as well.
This is an opt-in system and you decide what you want to provide. You can create a PIN and use Jacket Guardian as well as
Smart911 free of charge.
When is Jacket Guardian/Smart911 available?
Jacket Guardian will be available January 3, 2012, and Smart911 is available now to Atlanta residents.
Which phones can provide my location information to emergency personnel?
Jacket Guardian and Smart911 location services work on a variety of phone models and carriers, including AT&T, Verizon,
and Sprint. When you create your profile and register your cellphone, the Smart911 system will check your phone for
compatibility with location services and tell you if it is available on your phone and carrier.
If your phone and carrier are supported, the location of your phone will be displayed on a map to emergency responders
if you call the Jacket Guardian number or 911.
Location services only work on cellphones since landlines cannot provide location data other than the address and room
number assigned to them in the GT E911 database. You can provide additional information about your campus locations,
such as where you are in the building or other information that would help emergency responders locate you in an
emergency, in the address portion of your profile.