New app aims to give immediate help during an emergency, crime

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Can an app on your smartphone protect you while walking or jogging alone? Can that same app help identify a hit-and-run driver or be the witness to some other crime? And can the app do it without hesitation like a surveillance camera?

That's the purpose of the PerpAlert mobile app.

"It's an instant app, if you will. Once you download it, the app icon is a red button and you put it right on your home screen," explained Lee Henseler, one of the creators of PerpAlert.

He says if you feel threatened or witness some crime simply press the red app button on your phone and the app does the rest.

"Immediately three pictures are taken -- three to make sure you get a good quality one. It is sent immediately to up to three emails that you have pre-programmed. The people whose emails you're sending it to get a text message saying, 'I need your help,'" Henseler explained.

The app also has a GPS locater that displays a map and satellite view.

"All the other apps that are out there - and there are other safety apps out there - require you to open up the app [and] make some decisions. But ours is the only one that is immediate," said Henseler.

Erika, who didn't want to use her last name, thinks it's an app she would use.

"If I'm in a dangerous situation, I sometimes get a little nervous, so it won't be me having to figure out what numbers or buttons to push. I just have to press an icon and I have it all immediately taken care of," she said.

The PerpAlert app is available for Apple and Android phones. However, it is not free. There is a charge of a $1.99 a year.

Also, it's not endorsed by any law enforcement agency. But the PerpAlert website does show one endorsement from a past president of the National Sheriff's Association.

"Hopefully I never have to use it, but it's always great to have," said Erika.