The Citizen App

As you may suspect, I am an information junkie. I read anything and everything. I generally have an app for providing me with this information. Yet, there was a large gaping hole in my data acquisition. Thank goodness for fellow Louper Amy F. who shared the Citizen app with me. This app provides real-time alerts for crime and other emergency incidents in your area (only New York and San Francisco for now). It is like a technology-enabled police radio scanner! The idea is that it alerts you if something is nearby and then you can determine which way to run, towards it or away from it. All the items have been reported to 911 and Users are encouraged to add additional information (photos, videos, and comments), so as to inform interested parties.

I have been using this for a few weeks, and you can't imagine the number of incidents occurring around my location. Just the other day I received an alert that there was a sighting of a snake on my block as I was sitting comfortably in Florida with friends ... we even joked about it. It turns out there was a rather large snake outside my door, braving the freezing cold temperatures (not sure how), and my dog walker was the one who called the police! Whether you are an optimist or a pessimist, this information is incredibly useful!