Startup Idea: Crowdsourced Criminal Reporting MTurk-like App
Hello Justin,
I work in the field of criminal justice and one problem that we have is an issue that is analogous to what Amazon Mechanical Turk is attempting to solve. MTurk was created to bridge the gap between advancing artificial intelligence and the need for human workers to complete tasks that computers still are not proficient at yet. Similarly, in the criminal justice industry researchers and forensic analysts are becoming heavily dependent on computer software, surveillance cameras, and drones to identify dangerous, threatening, and criminal behaviors without putting officers and investigators lives at risk. But the technology that criminal justice professionals use is still very much responsive and unable to predict crime before it actually happens. Technology is making it easier to collect massive amounts of civilian data for criminal investigation and national security purposes, but still it is difficult to predict where crime is going to happen next.
Instead of relying on a massive dragnet of data and systematically violating constitutional rights of innocent individuals through bulk data collection, I believe that if society invests in the creation of a Smart Phone app that literally pays people anonymously through financial incentives using a set of structured rewards for actively reporting criminal activity to the police, we could improve the accuracy of delivering services for preventing crime and holding criminals accountable. A smart phone app that allows people to report criminal activity that they are witnessing would cut down on investigative work, increase public safety, and hold offenders accountable.
I imagine a smart phone app similar to MTURK, that allows someone to submit a report to the police, the police will then follow-up on the report, and if they determine through the investigative process that a crime was in fact committed and they successfully identify a suspect or make an arrest, they will deposit $100.00 into the account of the person who anonymously submitted the report if it is a low level crime like someone dealing drugs in their neighborhood. If it is anonymous tip that leads to the arrest of someone suspected of engaging in a serious violent crime, they will be paid $1000.00. Since police departments across the country are largely decentralized, the departments across the country would have to individually set up an account and fund the account using local tax payer dollars to pay eye witnesses or anonymous informants.
I can also imagine a system where law enforcement post "HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks)" where they are actively searching for information on missing children, cold cases, or they are searching for particular evidence and they need the help of the public. I would imagine a system very similar to MTURK but strictly for law enforcement investigation and criminal activity reporting purposes. I think by tying a financial incentive to criminal investigative work, we as a society can encourage people to participate in the investigative and judicial process for preventing crime and holding offenders accountable! I believe this type of platform would help society reduce the risk of terrorism and other major crimes by allowing the greater public an opportunity to anonymously contribute to the criminal investigative process.