A new, free crowdsourcing mobile app, Spottm, which will let victims of crime request help from members of the community around them, will be introduced by a new South African start-up early next year.
The app lets people alert police or family members during an emergency situation, and report service delivery issues.
Members of the public, known as ?Spotters?, will be able to respond to victim reports and police identikits in real time in the app, all anonymously.
Users will be able to log service delivery requests to local councils by uploading images or videos, alerting them about burst water pipes, faulty street lights, potholes, and so on, says Spottm co-founder Lawrence Suss.
The start-up is in its infancy, having formed in September. Spottm has created an website and is in pre-development phase. So far, Spottm has been self-funded by Suss and co-founder Beverly Paly.
Paly, 30, holds a degree in business management and founded and ran Hair Emporium in the Western Cape. She was country manager for a nonprofit called Vision Africa before co-founding Spottm.
Suss, 33, who now lives in London, is no stranger to the world of start-ups. A few years ago, he founded an online Apple Mac software marketplace called MacBasket. A self-taught Web and graphic designer, he has since gained experience working in Europe. He says this was important in developing their first robust platform for Spottm.
While Suss was living in Cape Town, he was hijacked, and thought that the police could have done more to apprehend the suspects within the first 24 hours. ?If the community could covertly be on the lookout, it increases the number of eyes on the ground.?
If it?s done in real time, it would be a great help in those crucial few hours following a crime, says Suss. ?So, the idea for Spottm really started as an idea for a more efficient, more technological neighbourhood watch.?
Spottm regards Shout SA and Turn It Around as competitors, and says that although there are many tip-off services already in the market, most are SMS or social media based. ?With Spottm, it?s easier to report crimes and respond to those reports in real time. Besides the mobile app advantage, there is a holistic element to the app, giving users a platform to report other non-crime-related incidents.?
The app will be introduced in early 2014, first on Android, and will serve only the Milnerton area in Cape Town. Once established, development will begin on other platforms, with roll-out to other parts of South Africa.
The founders hope to make money through advertising and by charging police and other law enforcement agencies to send identikits to Spotters.
Spottm also hopes to work with armed-response agencies to offer a pay-as-you-go call-out fee to app users in an emergency situation and to charge municipal councils who wish to make use of its feature that allows users to alert them about faulty traffic lights and other problems in their neighbourhoods.
Sources: TechCentral, SPOTTM,?Shout SA,?Turn It Around