business report

SUBJECT: Audience Analysis for Safe Shake Pilot in Long Beach

Current Census data and statistics gathered from the Megan’s Law website for the city of Long Beach has shown that there is a current increase in overall crime and more than 800 registered sex offenders located throughout the city (US Census Bureau, 2015; Ruiz, 2016 ). With the city being home to many schools and other public institutions; how safe are young women who make up the majority gender on Long Beach’s school campuses? From this question, our team compiled together significant data and the idea to build a business around a smartphone application (app) that would help reduce the number of sex crimes was realized.

Crime Rate Statistics and Legislation

At the end of 2015, Long Beach has seen increases in both violent crime by 20 percent and property crime by 15 percent. Police have reported the highest rate of murders in the past six years at 36 incidents. With the enactment of proposition 47 it is difficult for police officers to put away criminals because it reduces a good number of felony convictions down to misdemeanor offenses. Long Beach Police argue that there is also a correlation between fewer incarcerations and the increase in overall crime (Yee, 2016). Safe Shake was originally intended to prevent sex-related crimes, but can be versatile in the long run by also alerting the network during a robbery, carjacking, or even kidnapping. The data provides us with a strong inference that the crime rate will increase as the number of criminals increase in the city’s neighborhoods over the next few years. With a great marketing effort directed toward student females ages 18-30, we believe we have a good chance of garnering demand for our app because they are the most vulnerable to becoming victims of sex crimes.

Long Beach Demographics

Median Age and Residents Who Have Not Been Married

The median age in Long Beach is 35.56 and roughly 44 percent of its residents have never been married (Demographics, 2016). We suggest there is a significant number of residents that are more interested in being single and do not maintain family values which include high moral standards, discipline, and respect for women. Family’s put emphasis on the development of children into becoming fully responsible adults who will contribute to society (Price-Mitchell, 2011). So with these statistics, we predict Long Beach citizen’s decrease in overall morals and values to exacerbate the city’s level of crime.

Educational Attainment Over Age 25 and Good Citizenship

Nearly two-thirds of all Long Beach residents over the age of 25 have not obtained at least a Bachelor’s Degree and only 8.27 percent of them have obtained an Associate’s Degree. Out of all educational attainment categories, the college dropout rate was the highest at 23.59 percent. There is an indirect correlation between educational attainment and incarceration rates (The Alliance, 2013), and with Long Beach having fewer educated residents than college dropouts, we infer that good citizenship will decrease contributing to an overall rise in crime.

Psychographics for Long Beach

Nearly 83 percent of college students between 18 and 29 use a smartphone (Chen, Seilhamer, Bennett, & Bauer, 2015). With approximately 21,000 females enrolled at Cal State University Long Beach, roughly 95 percent of them live off campus (California State University Long Beach, 2016). They are outside of campus police patrol and unable to use campus emergency stations, so it is crucial to provide them with a sense of safety. Many, for the first time, are branching out into unchartered areas of life: new school, new home, new friends, and no parents to give them the necessary support they need.

Sense of Safety

Safe Shake will encourage and promote peace of mind, knowing that first responders, friends, and family are within a short distance. Women who have been severely assaulted experience more than twice the association with psychiatric disorders. For example, depression jumps from 20 to 60 percent if severely abused, and somatization disorder escalates roughly 20 to 53 percent, to name a few (Dickinson, deGruy III, Dickinson, Candib,1999). Without a doubt, women are at a higher risk of being sexually assaulted than men, thus contributing even more to this fear of becoming a victim.

College Atmosphere, Values, and Lifestyle

Lifestyle is another factor when considering psychographics. College students have a tendency to practice poor partying habits that can lead to dangerous situations. Females specifically have a higher chance of becoming a sexual assault victim when alcohol and drugs are involved. Men may feel that some women have consented to their advances but unfortunately if a woman is intoxicated, her ability to prevent herself from being a victim is substantially diminished. In a personal interview with Long Beach resident Tony Soriano, after a night of heavy drinking near the Belmont Shore area, it is common for women to be taken advantage of. There are seldom any reliable people around to call on because mostly everyone else is intoxicated as well (T. Soriano, personal communication, October 5th, 2016). With the launch of Safe Shake, even intoxicated students would be able to ensure their safety and prevent any unwanted advancements.

Fear of Judgement

Finally, when it comes to reporting these horrific incidents, women can often feel discouraged and terrified. It is all too common for a woman to be misunderstood when trying to explain something so personal as being a victim of sexual abuse. Safe shake will not only notify first responders, but also a close group of friends to comfort the user in a time of need. This will increase the user’s feeling of safety and decrease the fear of judgement. For example, a survivor at Appalachian State, stated it took her two days to call someone and report the attack (Willette, 2014). We hope Safe Shake will eliminate hesitation when it comes to speaking up against such a horrible crime.

Finding a Niche Market

There are several personal safety apps available for both Android and iOS, each with their own unique features. Safe Trek is an app that requires holding down a button on a user’s phone and releasing it only if he or she is in danger. Bugle is another app that allows a user to create a schedule and will send an email to selected contacts if that user fails to check in on time. What would separate Safe Shake in our Market is the ability to notify first responders and emergency contacts simply by shaking the device. The convenience would be in not having to access the graphical user interface or pressing any buttons, which would save time.

Safe Shake Features and Benefits

The Safe Shake mobile phone application will be aimed specifically at female college students and we plan to include features that utilize the most current technology available:

· Motion Activation (shaking)

· GPS Location

· Alarm and Flashing Deterrent

· Alerts Authorities and Friends

These features will be engineered to prevent sexual assault in the easiest and most efficient way possible. In the event of a sexual assault, every second is critical. It is vital for females to possess a system that can ensure their safety by the most effective means possible. Once downloaded on either iOS or Android smartphones, users will be allowed to choose up to fifteen friends from their contact list. The app will then automatically set up the GPS locator and pinpoint the location of all law enforcement officers in the surrounding area. After following these preliminary steps the app will be ready to use. Motion activation will act as the key component behind Safe Shake. In potential emergency situations, users will be directed to shake their phones rapidly to activate the system. The system will then utilize the phone's speakers and flash to create a mind-numbing high pitch sound and visual deterrent to either alert people in the vicinity or ward off a possible offender.

We are confident that Safe Shake’s utility will gain popularity and allow our market to diversify over time. By initially targeting our audience to college females between 18 and 30 years of age, we are maximizing the likelihood of gaining significant market share given Long Beach’s increase in overall crime.

Citations:

California State University Long Beach - CollegeData College Profile. (2016). Retrieved October 14, 2016, from http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg01_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=259

Campus Facts Fall 2015. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2016, from https://web.csulb.edu/divisions/students/presidents_scholars/campus_facts.htm

Chen, B., Seilhamer, R., Bennett, L., & Bauer, S. (2015, June 22). Students’ mobile learning practices in higher education: A multi-year study. Retrieved October 16, 2016, from http://er.educause.edu/articles/2015/6/students-mobile-learning-practices-in-higher-education-a-multiyear-study

Demographics. (2016, January 01). Long Beach: Demographics. Retrieved October 15, 2016, from Live Well Long Beach, http://www.livewelllongbeach.org/index.php?module=DemographicData&type=user&func=ddview&varset=1&ve=text&pct=2&levels=1

Dickinson, L. M., deGruy III, F. V., Dickinson, W. P., & Candib, L. M. (1999). Health-related quality of life and symptom profiles of female survivors of sexual abuse. Archives of family medicine, 8(1), 35.

Long Beach Police Department. (2013). Crime statistics. Retrieved October 9, 2016, from Long Beach Police Department, http://www.longbeach.gov/police/crime-info/crime-statistics/

Price-Mitchell Ph.D., M. (2011, October 12). Are we raising good citizens? Retrieved October 16, 2016, from Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-moment-youth/201110/are-we-raising-good-citizens

Ruiz, J. (2016, June 21). Long Beach residential restrictions for sex offenders to be amended after state rules Buffers unconstitutional. Retrieved October 16, 2016, from https://lbpost.com/news/city/2000009042-long-beach-residential-restrictions-for-sex-offenders-to-be-amended-after-state-rules-buffers-unconstitutional

The Alliance. (2013, September 12). Saving futures, saving dollars: The impact of education on crime reduction and earnings. Retrieved October 15, 2016, from Alliance for Excellent Education, http://all4ed.org/reports-factsheets/saving-futures-saving-dollars-the-impact-of-education-on-crime-reduction-and-earnings-2/

US Census Bureau - Long Beach, CA. (2015, July 01). Population estimates, July 1, 2015, (V2015). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from United States Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/0643000

Willette, E. (2014). Elizabeth Willette - End Campus Rape. Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://endcampusrape.com/survivors/elizabeth-willette/

Yee, G. (2016, January 22). Long Beach 2015 crime stats released: Double-digit spikes in violent and property crimes. Retrieved October 9, 2016, from Press Telegram, http://www.presstelegram.com/general-news/20160122/long-beach-2015-crime-stats-released-double-digit-spikes-in-violent-and-property-crimes