UC Berkeley is ranked the second most dangerous university in the US.¹ Local crime rate is consistently rising and students are often unprepared when they encounter a dangerous situation. As a result, many students feel unsafe commuting alone. Our team at. Pro-tech has witnessed dangerous crimes on campus, leading us to be direct advocates for safer commuting trips.
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Did you know?
Statistics from Clery Center, a nonprofit organization that focuses on campus security.²
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“More than 82% of college students report feeling concerned about their personal safety as they return to campus this fall, with more than half saying they are very or extremely concerned.”
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“According to students, even common activities of campus life make them feel unsafe, like being in an unfamiliar area (82%), interacting with strangers (78%), walking home in the dark (74%), or leaving a bar/party alone (65%).”
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“An overwhelming majority of college students (97%) say they consider their personal safety as they go about daily campus life and try to protect themselves by always carrying their phone (75%), trying to familiarize themselves with their surroundings (58%) or traveling in groups or pairs (43%).”
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“Only 17% of college students utilize campus security escorts, and only 13% of college students participate in campus prevention programs to feel safer.”
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“More than 55% of college students admit they have not called friends for help when they’ve felt unsafe because they feared they’d be judged by them.”
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College students are no stranger to the fact that most college campuses located in city/downtown areas have chronically high crime rates . Students are always informed to travel in groups and carry self defense gadgets with them at all times right from their college orientation. It is a sad aspect of student life on college campuses. However, with the wide range of self defense gadgets on the market such as pepper spray, window breakers, alarms, flashlights, tasers, etc. carrying all of these essential items can be quite inconvenient. College students are always on the lookout for easier and more efficient ways to do multiple tasks/ carry multiple things at once and need to prioritize safety and self defense. Certain design changes can be made to these existing self defense products or new solutions can be developed entirely to solve this issue. That said, our How Might We statement is:
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How Might We effectively enable students
to feel safe and empowered on college campuses in
high crime neighborhoods?
How Might We Statement​
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Our Mission is to empower students and equip them to handle any situation.
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We at Pro-tech have innovated a 3-in-1 portable and accessible self defense gadget that includes a pepper spray, taser, and emergency button making calling for help and defending oneself much easier. Our product is attachable to a user’s phone that is integrated with a simple smartphone app that can help someone locate the nearest safe zones and contact emergency responders at the click of a button. This device makes protecting oneself simple, efficient, and reliant!
