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Michael Just like me, more and more people are getting upset about the increasing neglect and lawlessness in the city of San Francisco. Therefore, it is not surprising that enterprising internet people are thinking about how technology could get the situation back under control. For example, the app "Citizen" (its slogan is: "Protect the World") collects police reports, processes them by location and time, evaluates them, and then immediately alerts the user's phone if something happens within the set action radius.
And things happen in San Francisco every few minutes: Here, someone smashes a car window, there, a homeless person climbs over a fence, here, a robber snatches a tourist's wallet, there, a few teenagers are brawling. Users are allowed to make funny comments about the crimes or even "go live," meaning they can turn on their phone camera if they see a house on fire from their window or want to film the emergency responders at an accident scene. The whole thing is really exciting, and sometimes even hilarious, because completely crazy things happen all the time, like a homeless person throwing trash at passersby or a madman swinging a long iron rod around.
Citizen employs specialists who translate police reports into formally correct, but extremely entertaining, snarky American English. When a bum hits parked cars with a broom, Citizen reports "Man Whacking Cars with Broom," which perhaps a teenager would say rather than an adult, but that's exactly what makes it entertaining.
Since Citizen knows where the user lives (or alternatively where they are currently located), users immediately receive a notification on their screen if something happens in the nearby area. Last Friday, I was working from home when suddenly a notification came in that the fire department was extinguishing a burning car five streets away. I immediately ran downstairs, grabbed an electric rental bike, rode past the scene with my phone in hand, and went live". What you see there is my video, bravely recorded despite the stinking plumes of smoke! However, Citizen employees apparently envision live reports to be a bit more professional, because I immediately received an email (see Figure 4) pointing out that instead of silently recording just a few seconds, I should have kept the camera rolling longer and commented on the events live. There's still a lot to improve on that!
The app is relatively new, currently covering only the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City, but it is spreading like wildfire, especially among all the trendy city kids who seem to be using it. Even the concerned hippies at the New York Times are already getting worked up about it! Highly recommended!
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