New “Stop & Frisk” App Allows Users To Monitor Police

Stop & Frisk has been one of the most controversial procedures in New York City and now smart phone users have a way of fighting back!

The NYPD better watch out because they now have another way of being monitored. The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) has created an app that will allow users to report police tactics.

Here’s how it works:

* “Record,” which allows bystanders to video an incident and send the video to the group with a shake of their phones;

* “Listen,” which alerts users when searches are being conducted near them; and

* “Report,” which allows users to send the NYCLU information about searches that were not filmed.

The app is intended for users to report Stop & Frisk tactics, not intended for the users themselves.

More than 200,000 searches were conducted by the New York police in the first three months of 2012, a 10 percent increase from 2011. More than three-quarters of those searched are black or Latino. Citizens now have a new weapon in their fight against unjust searches.

The app (of course) doesn’t come without heavy criticism from the NYPD.

Police Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne (pictured right) said in an emailed statement the department has many problems with the app, stressing among other things privacy concerns for those depicted in videos and that criminals may be able to use the “Listen” function to see where police are currently making stops.

The app is currently available for the Android and will be available for iPhone users by the summer. This is certainly an app I’ll be downloading!

Source: Reuters

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