Several years ago, a friend referred me to an App that he'd put on his Smart-phone.....that would identify where cops were running a speed-zone. Two years ago, my wife noted a new App that she'd added that referred her to the latest gas prices within twenty kilometers....so she could shop for the cheapest fuel when required.
Apps interest me because there are literally millions of uses.
This week....in Frankfurt....an App came up and got some folks a bit hyped up and angry....and for others, it was an obvious good thing.
The App is called "Dike"....referring to the Greek goddess of justice (if you believe in the mythology stuff).
Basically, users can sit there in a car or be driving through some area....and report problems. The public and the cops would have this data.
An example.....you are walking around some city bridge and note two guys conducting a drug transaction and take a picture....loading it to the scene. The App puts the item at location-map and has the picture tied to it, and maybe some brief line or two.
Another example....you pass by some guy who is really doped up and acting weird....so you take a shot of him, and hit the button to post the picture, time, and location.
The Frankfurt cops? Well....according to HR (they produced this report)....the cops just aren't that happy with this. They think a lot of info will be posted with data that they are unable to use. The more-is-better concept doesn't sell well to the cops. The term "digital witch hunt" was uttered as well.
Oddly enough....the cops are somewhat happy and stuck with the old fashioned method....call 110 to report a crime.
My humble opinion? I think this App will survive for roughly two years before the courts take it down. Accusations of false reporting will occur and the cops will see it as some threat to their culture (while they are perfectly happy with people calling 110).
Germans get hyped up over pictures taken in public now. Overhead imagery of your property or vacation house....can get some Germans fairly aggravated. Use of pictures from public events can turn into a problem.
So you might hear about Dike in German circles and wonder why folks are so hyped up about it. Personally, I think anything that happens outside your front-door....is public knowledge and can be put on some public database. Cops may not like it because they may have to actually investigate things and pursue crimes with pictures and data.
No comments:
Post a Comment