New Public Safety App in Detroit Draws On 9-1-1 Dispatch Information
There’s a new app it’s aiming to increase transparency around public safety issues in the city of Detroit.
Today, a new app for personal safety is launching in Detroit.
It’s called Citizen and it combines location information with 9-1-1 intelligence intended to keep you and your network of friends and family in the loop about accidents at home, on the road and elsewhere.
Detroit Today host Stephen Henderson talks about Citizen with Ben Jealous, former President of the NAACP and Social Impact Investor in Citizen.
Click on the player above to hear Ben Jealous talk about Citizen and public safety.
Jealous says he brought the app to Baltimore last year and has been invested for years. He says the city of Baltimore is required by law to have transparency around 911 calls, but they usually go on the internet several hours after the call comes in.
With the app, Jealous says people find out within a matter of minutes. Jealous says the app respects the privacy of its users. “We will never share your data,” he explains. Although he says there’s a chance in the future that the application platform will expand to include apps that require payment, “the app that helps everyone stay safe will always be free.”
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