Nov 19, 2013 11:10 AM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

A survivor of the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, Kristina Anderson has helped develop a smartphone app that can help prevent campus crimes.

According to the Washington Post, Anderson teamed up with the people who originally created an app called CrimePush. That app was downloaded more than 100,000 times and was a method for people to anonymously report crime tips.

When CrimePush narrowed its audience to higher education campuses, it became LiveSafe, a project Anderson said is "very important."

"A lot of people say, 'I thought this already existed.' It's a very simple concept, but it's also a very important one," Anderson told the Post. "As smartphone adoption has spread, it makes sense for safety to become a part of app culture."

The app allows college students to track crimes and report a crime directly to the school's police department.

"People have knowledge or information, but they're not speaking up, and that's not acceptable because that information can prevent school violence," Anderson said.

On April 16, 2007, Cho Seung Hui opened fire on Virginia Tech's campus and killed 32 people in total. His first victims were shot and killed at 7:15 a.m. and then 30 more after he began shooting in another campus building two hours later.

Anderson was 19 at the time and was shot three times by Cho, once in her foot and twice in the back. She was in a classroom and watched as Cho shot and killed 11 classmates and her professor.

Since her survival, she has toured the country speaking about her experience as a survivor of the horrific attack and on campus safety. Her most recent effort is a safety measure that will always be in arm's reach and just a few button clicks.

Shy Pahlevani is the original creator of CrimePush and he previously worked for a company called uKnow.com, a website to help parents protect their children in the digital world. The app is designed to make reporting crimes and suspicious activity easy by not requiring the user to actually call the dispatcher.

The app user also does not only have to wait for a crime to occur to report something. Non-emergencies like harassment, theft, minor auto collisions, vandalism or even mental health concerns can be reported with the tap of a button.

Campus officials then collect all the tips and display them on a dashboard that will allow them to contact the tipsters. The app is also meant to reach students where they are, to encourage the use of their smartphone in a time of need rather than encouraging the traditional means of reporting a crime.

"What's been really fascinating is how much students don't like to use their phone to call the police, but are willing to send in all sorts of tips when they can do it through an app," said Jenny Abramson, who joined the company a month ago as chief executive officer. "When they do need to open the app and report something, they'll know how to use it and they'll take it seriously."

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