Citizen (service of notifications about crimes)

2017: Start of service in New York

In March, 2017 the Sp0n company started the Citizen service notifying on crimes in real time. Initially the project was called Vigilante, but then it was renamed into Citizen ("Citizen").

The administration of service catches open signals at police frequencies and plots location of criminals, their characteristics and other information which can be useful to citizens.

If the user of the application is near the scene, the notification with the address and the description of offense comes to its smartphone, helping the person not to fall an accidental victim of new crime. Besides, the program will allow to conduct online broadcast of the events to help community to stay in the know of events.

To the middle of March, 2017 service functions only in New York, more precisely only in five districts of the city. The application of Citizen is available to installation on iOS - and Android device. At the same time it did not get official approval from law enforcement agencies as there consider that "police officers, but not vigilantes with cell phones should be engaged in crimes".^[1]

The founder of Sp0n Andrew Frame notes that service constantly interacts with the New York City Police Department, city services and some leaders of local communities. The company does not encourage potentially dangerous behavior of users, including a pursuit of the criminal, he reported, having added that start of service in other cities is planned.

The Washington Post notes that in October, 2016 Sp0n started this service of notifications about incidents nearby under the name of Vigilante (in translation from engl. — the combatant, a national bditel), however next day Apple deleted the corresponding application from App Store online store, having considered that the name of the program indicates possible participation of citizens in control of offenses. As a result the project was decided to be renamed.^[2]

Notes