The Ethical Pitfalls of Crime Prevention Apps

Nikki Williams

January 19, 2016

https://www.digitalethics.org/essays/ethical-pitfalls-crime-prevention-apps

"The Dark Side of Crime-Fighting Apps"

First Impression:

Everywhere is not as safe as it seems, for in fact thanks to technology, there are new ways to make us people feel secure about our surroundings. It may seems like a good idea, but personally, I prefer old-fashioned constant vigilance and proper action, as well as self-control and double-checking the facts about using technological security.

Quote: 

"Upon initial examination, this seems like a useful and efficient way to deter crime and increase personal safety, but it appears these crime-fighting superhero apps have a dark side." 

Reflection Proper:

Security is always important in our lives everyday, for our surroundings may look safe on the outside but it's really not, for there could be danger just around the corner. In today's world of digital connections and innovations all around, there are many new ways to help people feel secure everywhere they go, such as apps that can allow anyone to be aware of everything around them, alert authorities about, see real-time tracking of crime activity and news of crime-related incidents. Sure, they may seems helpful, but there's always a dark side from those sort of things. For instance, according to the essay article, there was talk about the GroupMe app in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., as a certain group using the app was targeting a lot of African-Americans and posting racial comments about them, and thus after this controversial issue was reported in the media, the group was not using the app anymore. Another example would be about the article in Forbes about the CrimePush app which gives users the ability to "report crime anonymously" --- it may seem like a good idea, anonymity protecting the informants, but as the article states: "it can also enable emotional distance and contribute to incident exaggeration" --- this sort of example applies to the fact that apps involving digital anonymity "allow prejudice and misunderstanding to snowball as the accuser, accused, and authority figures are even further disconnected from one another." So, in conclusion, there's no doubt we need apps or inventions that can allow people to report crimes on-the-spot, send help to distressed people, or letting people know which areas are safe to live into, but we should be always aware of what we are doing as well, including the fact that app developers need to be really aware of the social hazards that they may cause to everyone. After all, even in the online world, or not, constant vigilance and safety first is a must, and it's the first step in ensuring one's security in his or her surroundings.

5 Things Learned From Article: 

1. I learned that there's a dark side to crime prevention apps.

2. I learned that people mostly use such apps that involves alerting anything suspicious to create something either racist or inappropriate.

3. I learned that crime prevention apps mostly involve the topic of one's race or gender or sexual harassment.

4. I learned that some apps that involve digital anonymity can create emotional distance with informants and may as well contribute to over-exaggeration of the incident involved.

5. I learned that all people, even app developers, should be aware of what we are doing with crime-prevention apps and we should use it correctly.

5 Integrative Questions:

1. Do you use crime-prevention apps like an app that you can use to report crime in your area? If so, name them.

2. What's your reaction on crime-prevention apps being used indiscriminately and improperly?

3. How do you feel about crime-prevention apps targeting races or gender issues or something related to the two?

4. How do you tend to solve the dark side of crime prevention apps?

5. What's your suggestion to app developers when it comes to working with the law?