NEW YORK—In an age where smartphones are carried everywhere, capturing almost everything, an application (app) designer and a senator came up with a new way to send amateur pictures and videos of crimes to authorities.
The Brooklyn Quality of Life app (BQL) was initiated by New York state Sen. Eric Adams. The app gives New Yorkers a tool to photograph and report dangerous conditions or crime, and receive instant alerts on nearby crime, Adams announced at a press event Sunday.
Brooklynite Garth Naar owns Mobile App Depot, a company that designs apps for small businesses. His company designed the BQL for free.
“I am a father of five, hearing about murders of 4- and 2-year-olds really impacted me,” he said. “While I am not one of the brave men and women who take the guns out of our streets, I am a mobile app designer and I ask myself ‘What can I do to help?’”
The Brooklyn Quality of Life App (BQL) became available for Android users Saturday night. Apple users will be able to access the app in about a month. Despite its name, the free app works throughout New York City.
The app includes an alerting system that notifies all app users of the latest crime and missing children in their area.
Pictures of crimes, or life threatening situations, are automatically sent to retired police who screen the content, then pass it to authorities through a secure Facebook page.
If a picture or video was not recorded at the time of an incident, the app also has a voice recording option.
“This is a paradigm shift,” Adams said.
To combat low voter turnouts, the app also has a tab where one can register to vote and search for candidates’ voting records. The app also lists local cultural events.
According to Adams, Sen. Travis Holdman expressed concern that the app will discourage people from calling 911. Adams said the app is not a new 911 system, and that Holdman “does not understand” how the app works.
A Larger Need for Anonymity
The app was created after Adams surveyed 200 people of various ages, asking if they feel reluctant to report on crime, and why?
“What we found during our focus groups is that people are afraid to send in their photos or notify the police directly,” Adams said.
“It was not born out of my idea, it was born out of those who are in Brownsville, South Jamaica, Queens, [and] the South Bronx, these are the people that came forward and said ‘We would be more willing to come forward if we didn’t have to give our identity.’”
The NYPD has not begun working with the app yet. Adams, as a former police officer, said that he understands what can be helpful for law enforcement officers and investigators and created the app without notifying the NYPD.
Adams said he will be sending a letter to the NYPD shortly to explain the app.
