In this end of the week episode, Drew and Alex dive into a crime reporting app called “Citizen” which some have called a private security subscription service. The app “is a mobile app that sends users location-based safety alerts in real time,” or in other words it is a citizen reported crime update system. Drew talks about how the app is back in the news after it offered a controversial bounty of 30,000 dollars to catch a man that was suspected of starting the Palisades Fire in Southern California last week. The man’s face was plastered all over the app, sadly he turned out to be the wrong one. Also, Citizen was reported by Vice’s “Motherboard” to be “testing an on-demand private security force that would respond to user-submitted incidents.” Drew and Alex both fear that this may incentivize vigilantism, subjective reports on crime, and potentially more racism and hate crimes.
Podchaser is the ultimate destination for podcast data, search, and discovery. Learn More