Mayor Eric Adams introduced over the weekend that New York Metropolis will ship customers real-time public security alerts based mostly on their particular location by the crime-tracking app Citizen. The town additionally introduced that public security companies, just like the New York Metropolis Police Division, Hearth Division, and Emergency Administration, can have entry to a portal to overview footage shared by customers on Citizen.
Citizen’s verified accomplice program for cities like New York is tied to a partnership with Axon’s (previously often called Taser) Fusus platform, the “real-time crime heart” it acquired final yr. Axon introduced a partnership with Ring in April that enables regulation enforcement to request entry to video footage from house owners’ safety cameras in a sure space throughout a sure time. On the identical time, it additionally introduced an integration with Citizen to help sending alerts and pulling in public movies from Citizen’s customers. In line with Citizen, customers who don’t need their movies shared straight can choose out within the app’s settings, however all movies posted are nonetheless “viewable and downloadable by the general public.”
Adams stated the brand new NYC Public Security account on Citizen will ship notifications about public security, climate emergencies, and main incidents based mostly on a person’s neighborhood, ZIP code, or borough.
Citizen lets customers report potential security incidents, share movies, and broadcast dwell footage from inside its app. It additionally says it might ship alerts to close by cell gadgets “inside seconds” of a 911 name or a person report, and likewise affords a premium security line.
Citizen already permits regulation enforcement to acquire info from its app so long as they’ve a warrant, nevertheless it additionally affords the flexibility for police to get information “at once” in case of emergencies. It initially launched underneath the identify “Vigilante” in 2016, however the app was booted from the App Retailer for selling vigilantism, TechCrunch reported on the time. The app later relaunched as Citizen and has confronted heavy criticism within the years since, with some arguing it fuels concern in communities. In 2021, Citizen CEO Andrew Body got here underneath fireplace for encouraging customers to seek out the incorrect individual suspected of beginning a California wildfire.
