Website caters to independent lifestyle

Users can input information before going out.

By Lindsey Wehking

Published Sept. 3, 2010

A new online system gives students the privacy and independence associated with college life and parents the security of knowing if something goes wrong.

SafeCheckIn.com allows individuals the security of having someone always waiting for him or her to return from any activity on or off campus, according to a press release sent out last week.

The site goes beyond the college demographic and acts as a safety net for single people, the elderly and the disabled. Creator Jeff Arndt said his inspiration for the site originated while he was living independently.

"I was in the middle of a snowstorm skiing alone and as I looked down off the chairlift, I thought to myself: 'If I fall off this chair, nobody knows where I am skiing, when I left and where to start looking,'" he said.

When creating a profile at SafeCheckIn.com, members supply their weight, height, physical features, medical conditions, vehicle information, a photo and emergency contact information.

After a profile is complete, members are able to set up "events." For each event the member enters enough information about his activity to give his parents or police an effective starting point.

One major concern among students is privacy. When asked about student resistance to this new system, Arndt said he has received no negative feedback.

"Information is completely private and never disclosed unless the members go overdue (for check-in) and then only to designated contacts," he said. "We do not keep track of what they do and only respond when they go overdue."

He said SafetyCheckIn.com is a system used by the student for his or her personal safety, not by the parent to spy on his or her children.

Arndt emphasizes that as long as the student is the one who joins the site, his parents or emergency contacts will not be notified unless the student is overdue.

Freshman Parker Tarun said the service would make him feel safer on campus.

"This comes as a major comfort to me," he said. "When walking down the streets of downtown Columbia, I often see grimy alleyways that could play backdrop to some serious molestation. To be honest, I would want my parents to know if this was happening."

Arndt said his college-age demographic is continually growing.

"I feel the biggest thing holding more students back is the youthful feeling of invincibility," he said.

Freshman Evan Townsend said he doubts the desire for freedom would hold students back.

"It seems like a lot of work to enter an event every time you go out, but I guess in the occurrence something bad happens it would save my life," he said. "It would be worth it."

Arndt claims to have also received positive feedback from law enforcement.

"The biggest comment I have gotten is that while they get hundreds of missing persons reports a year, they hardly ever know where to start looking," he said.

Although MU Police Department Capt. Brian Weimer agreed the information the members provide on the website would be a helpful starting point in missing persons cases, he encouraged students to be cautious of what information they supply online, no matter the site.

Weimer said there are few missing person reports on campus, and according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, in Boone County there are around 150 to 300 people reported missing each year, though all the cases are usually closed within a year.

Weimer supports the age-old policy of the buddy system.

"Make sure someone knows where you are going," he said. "Take somebody with you."