What Charlotte residents need to know before reporting incidents to the Citizen app
More than 85,000 Charlotte residents have signed up to use the public safety app Citizen since it became available in the city in April 2020, the app’s senior communications manager says.
The mobile app notifies users of nearby incidents that could affect their safety — including severe weather, downed power lines, kidnappings, COVID-19 contact tracing and terrorist attacks. A team of “Citizen analysts” who monitor 911 activity around the clock generate the safety alerts, communications manager Lily Gordon said.
Residents also have the ability to submit a safety incident that hasn’t yet been included in the app by tapping the “Add Incident” button. Once there, they can select an incident category and submit a video report. All incidents submitted by users are vetted by Citizen analysts, and if they meet the app’s reporting criteria, additional details will be sought and shared, Gordon said.
Here are some things Charlotte residents should keep in mind when reporting safety incidents on Citizen:
CMPD doesn’t use Citizen
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police don’t use Citizen in any official capacity, and the department encourages residents to call 911 and provide as much information as possible to the operator, Lt. Stephen Fischbach said.
Fischbach said he’s never used Citizen and isn’t aware of any tips CMPD has received through the app.
More than 90% of safety incidents are 911-generated, and most of the incidents that are reported through the “Add Incident” feature are merged with 911-reported incidents, Gordon said. These user-submitted incidents are reviewed by Citizen analysts to ensure they follow moderation guidelines, she said.
Citizen doesn’t do background checks
Citizen doesn’t require background checks for any of its 7 million users, who are spread across more than 25 U.S. cities, Gordon said.
The app does have a “strict set of guidelines” its analysts are trained to follow when creating incidents.
“We are proud of the fact that we moderate every single piece of content on our platform,” Gordon said.
Reports of domestic disturbances or calls about suspicious persons also aren’t reported within the app because they do not impact Citizen users’ real-time safety, she said.
Who are the Citizen analysts?
Citizen analysts are a team comprised of people with media and public safety backgrounds who review 911 calls and monitors every safety alert in real time, Gordon said.
How does Citizen filter out false incidents?
Citizen analysts are tasked to filter out false incidents and decide whether they are safety concerns by looking at public information from first responder agencies, Gordon said.
If an incident is deemed false or incorrect, then it’s labeled “unconfirmed” until it’s confirmed by law enforcement. If the updated information indicates that a report was a false alarm, then the app will update the post, or users will be able to see video of the incident, Gordon said.
Crime scenes are often “rapidly evolving situations” where the account of what actually took place changes as new information is found, Fischbach said.
Investigations by officers and detectives, analysis from the department’s crime lab and information from the community helps CMPD detect fictitious reports, he said.
Does Citizen store users’ data?
Citizen does not sell any user data nor will it in the future, Gordon said. Citizen stores user data for as short a period of time as needed to provide the service, she said, and the app deletes all location data after 30 days.
Controversy around the app
Andrew Frame, Citizen’s founder and CEO, drew backlash in May after ordering his staff to offer a $30,000 reward on the capture of a man suspected of igniting a brush fire in Los Angeles, Calif., according to an article by NBC News.
Devin Hilton was arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, but ultimately released because there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him, a New York Times article said. The department later charged Ramon Santos Rodriguez, 48, for the crime.
In a statement, Citizen called this incident a mistake and said offering cash rewards for information is something the company doesn’t know if it’ll do going forward.
