As of this year, the F.B.I. ranked St. Louis as the most dangerous city in the United States. Knowing this as a college student in the area, you might find yourself starting to grab that black leather jacket before heading out at night. You feel a little more confident, giving off that tough “don’t mess with me” vibe to passersby. According to ROBOCOPP, instead of that, all you need is theUSB flashdrive-sized Sound Grenade.
The Sound Grenade is the smallest alarm that releasesa 120-130 dB sound,
equivalent to the sound of an ambulance siren. All you have to do is pull out the pin to turn on the sound, and insert the pin back in to shut it off. This device can be useful not only to repel criminals in the city, but also dangerous animals when adventuring outdoors. With even a loopshaped
end to hook onto a keychain, the waterproof Sound Grenade is one of the
most versatile and affordable personal safety devices available today.
However, where does this portable alarm stand amongst the other safety devices commonly owned by students, such as pepper spray or phone apps? Phone apps are the fastest way to call for help, but they don’t provide a way to stop the crime from occurring. Pepper spray is the fastest way to attack someone. Yet, there is the chance of the pepper spray backfiring on the victims
themselves. Thus, the question arises, when placed
in a dangerous situation, what’s the best thing a person can do?
ROBOCOPP is a firm believer in deterrence as the most efficient way to prevent crime in the
community. Deterrence, in simplest words, is asking a criminal, “You sure you want to do that?” Research has found that crimes are less likely to occur in areas under more security, such as where alarm systems are set off, or where more police officers are patrolling. These precautions arouse fear and make someone second-think their plan. Swiss banks share that alarms may be the most effective deterrents, for more than half of the hold-up-men left their bank empty handed after hearing the sound of a siren.
Sam Masen, CEO of ROBOCOPP, invented the Sound Grenade after wanting something nonviolent to help protect his younger sister on campus and prevent confrontation. Since then, the Sound Grenade has increased awareness about crime prevention amongst the young crowd. While this device cannot guarantee stopping a crime from taking place, it definitely earns the owner valuable extra time.
ROBOCOPP representative Jill Turner points out that although “crime prevention on college campuses is often discussed exclusively in relation to women,” it is important to remember that “violent crime is not exclusive to one gender.”
The company is happy to share that Sound Grenade sales contain an equal number of male and female customers. With the Sound Grenade being so successful, ROBOCOPP is planning to release a new device called the ROBORanger. With all the features of the Sound Grenade, this new device will also have a 911 response built into the tiny alarm.
ROBOCOPP believes these products have the potential to make the nation’s violent crime rate go down to zero. Even more so, this company believes that every person in need should be given access to these products — and thus hopes to spread internationally, especially to underdeveloped countries.
The ROBORanger goes on sale for pre-order this week. Purchasing one could not only save your life, but improve a city’s safety as a whole. One more person holding a Sound Grenade in their hand means one more crime being discouraged from taking place. A city full of Sound Grenades may end up being a city empty of violent crime.
