Vigilante app Citizen is paying people to live stream crime scenes and emergencies
$25 an hour to livestream in NYC
The company seems determined to be more than a passive bystander or information source. As first reported by Motherboard in May, Citizen has been testing its own private security force, deploying Citizen-branded patrol cars who would respond to user requests. The company told The Verge this was part of a 30-day pilot program that had since ended and that is has no plans to launch fully
Update, Tuesday July 27th, 10:50AM ET: Updated to include information from Citizen about the end to the private security force and about the percentage of content on the app originating from paid field members.
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Citizen alerts users to local crime and emergencies based on their location.
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Citizen, an app dedicated to blasting users with notifications about emergencies and crime scenes in their area, has been paying people to film its content.
The company has been recruiting “field team members” via online job listings, offering applicants $200 to $250 a day if they can track down and livestream events in their local area. These events could range from “child reported missing, to house fire, to anything else,” says the listing, with workers expected to interview witnesses and police officials.
As per the listing: “You will need to be very quick on your feet, not only in terms of going live during moments that provide value to its users and support the app’s mission, but being able to locate and incorporate interviews on the fly that contribute to the live stream.”
The job listings were first spotted by the New York Post, but reports of paid Citizen streamers have been circulating for a while. . As a spokesperson for the company told the Post: “Citizen has teams in place in some of the cities where the app is available to demonstrate how the platform works, and to model responsible broadcasting practices in situations when events are unfolding in real time.”
> . . .Citizen, which originally launched in 2016 as Vigilante before being kicked off the iOS App Store, describes itself as a “personal safety network.” It generates location-based alerts for users by scanning police communications and compiling user reports. It tells users to “never approach a crime scene, interfere with an incident, or get in the way of police.”
The company has been repeatedly criticized for encouraging mob justice. . .
Reference for more details > James Vincent Jul 27, 2021, 7:15am EDT The Verge
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FROM THE INTERCEPT
Citizen App Again Lets Users Report Crimes — and Experts See Big Risks
The revived video feature could foment racism, increase invasive surveillance, and stoke panic, the experts say.
Citizen, a mobile app that alerts people to nearby emergencies, is testing the reintroduction of a controversial feature that lets users report crimes and incidents on their own by live streaming video.
Created by New York-based startup sp0n, Citizen first launched under the name “Vigilante” in 2016 in New York City, broadcasting alerts of 911 calls to users in the vicinity and allowing those users to send live video from incident scenes, comment on alerts, and report incidents on their own. In a splashy launch video with the hashtag #CrimeNoMore, several young men were depicted rushing to aid a woman who was chased by a menacing stranger; the video instructs users not to “interfere with the crime,” but then adds, “Good luck out there!” Vigilante was met with swift backlash from the public and police departments, and Apple soon pulled the app from its store. At that time, the New York Police Department issued a statement saying, “Crimes in progress should be handled by the NYPD and not a vigilante with a cell phone.”
Several months later, the app rebranded as Citizen, removed the incident reporting feature, and said it was shifting its focus to “safety” and “avoiding crime” — a far cry from its prior positioning.
Citizen’s return to public crime reporting has not been publicized, but is documented on the company’s user support website. The app’s latest version in Apple and Google’s app stores also includes the description: “Keep Your Community Safe: Report incidents right when they happen to protect the people around you.” . .
Location data, privacy, and surveillance
Experts say Citizen’s location data collection raises questions about privacy and surveillance, the government’s interest in such data, and the lack of oversight into location data tracking.
Private Security Company Thinks It Should Be Able To Take People To Jail Just Like Real Cops
from the Uber-but-for-vigilantes dept
A snitch app called Citizen is angling for the position of Local Law Enforcement®.
Going a step further than hotbeds of bigotry like Ring's Neighbors or Facebook-but-for-racism Nextdoor, Citizen is actually trying to create a private law enforcement agency that provides "security" and other services for app users.
A marauding cop-like patrol vehicle emblazoned with the Citizen logo (and some branding for another private security company) was spotted roaming Los Angeles last week. The desire to create a private cutout in public law enforcement space was confirmed by current and former Citizen employees, as well as documents shared with Motherboard and Joseph Cox.
It's not just theoretical. It appears some employees of this private company really want to convert Citizen into a law enforcement agency. (Supporters of this move may also contain members of the Los Angeles Police Department, which called Citizen's move towards patrolling the streets a "game changer."). . .
Private Security Contractor For VIGILANTE JUSTICE > There's An App For That!!
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Citizen, the vigilante justice app, has a plan to deploy private security forces, too
The same company that offered a bounty for the wrong arson suspect
This morning, The Verge published a story about how Citizen — an app that appears to encourage vigilante justice — encouraged its users to hunt down the wrong person and presumably bring them to justice, in the mistaken assumption that person had started the 1,158-acre Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles last week. 
The company offered a $30,000 bounty.
Now, we’re learning the same company is apparently planning to offer its own private security forces to users, according to a new report from Motherboard.
In fact, one Citizen-branded patrol car has already been spotted in the wild:
Few things make you feel like you live in a bleak dystopian reality like a Citizen App patrol car that looks like a cop car.
— brandon wenerd (@brandonwenerd) May 19, 2021
Spotted by @magggggiiieeeee on the 10. pic.twitter.com/B7ppqymXSd
Motherboard’s report goes further than that, though, digging through internal documents and speaking to former employees who describe a “privatized secondary emergency response network” that would respond to an app user’s request. So far, Citizen appears to have been contracting that work out, both to well-known private security provider Securitas and — in the picture above — Los Angeles Professional Security.
Citizen confirmed to Motherboard that it was at least internally testing a “personal rapid response service,” suggesting it might be as simple as an escort service users would summon if they’re afraid to walk home late at night.
But the app’s history — originally launched as Vigilante in 2016 — not to mention the idea that this company is apparently willing to encourage its users to hunt down suspects for money, suggest that this move could be... a little problematic? . .
Social networks and apps like Nextdoor and Amazon’s Ring Neighbors have already been roundly criticized for preying on people’s fears, encouraging them to report on suspicious activity in their neighborhood, normalizing surveillance, and unfairly targeting their neighbors based on their racial biases. Combine that with a company that might encourage users to take justice into their own hands, and that seems not great.
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Motherboard >
Leaked Emails Show Crime App Citizen Is Testing On-Demand Security Force
"Crime and neighborhood watch app Citizen has ambitions to deploy private security workers to the scene of disturbances at the request of app users, according to leaked internal Citizen documents and Citizen sources.
The plans mark a dramatic expansion of Citizen's purview. It is currently an app where users report "incidents" in their neighborhoods and, based on those reports and police scanner transcriptions, the app sends "real-time safety alerts" to users about crime and other incidents happening near where a user is located. It is essentially a mapping app that allows users to both report and learn about crime (or what users of the app perceive to be crime) in their neighborhood. The introduction of in-person, private security forces drastically alters the service, and potential impact, that Citizen may offer in the future, and provides more context as to why a Citizen-branded vehicle has been spotted driving around Los Angeles. The news comes after Citizen offered a $30,000 bounty against a person it falsely accused of starting a wildfire.
"The broad master plan was to create a privatized secondary emergency response network," one former Citizen employee told Motherboard. Motherboard granted multiple sources anonymity to protect them from retaliation from the company.
"It's been something discussed for a while but I personally never expected it to make it this far," another Citizen source told Motherboard.
. . .The email also names LAPS, or Los Angeles Professional Security. On Friday, Motherboard reported that Los Angeles Professional Security is linked to a Citizen-branded vehicle driving around Los Angeles. A Citizen spokesperson told Motherboard that the vehicle is part of a pilot program but declined to say exactly what that program consisted of. On its website, Los Angeles Professional Security describes itself as a "subscription law enforcement service." The internal Citizen email says the company is "an additional response partner." . .
Securitas did not respond to a request for comment. Los Angeles Professional Security acknowledged a request for comment but did not provide a response in time for publication.
Experts have criticized Citizen, saying the app may lead people to report things that aren't crime and may foster racism.
"Honestly Citizen as an app simply doesn't need to exist and it's more and more apparent as the months go on that leadership is just a bunch of scum," the former employee said.
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Citizen app told locals to "hunt" down a man for starting a California fire, offered reward – but had the wrong guy
The "personal safety network" app Citizen ignited a vigilante hunt for a man they identified as the suspect of a California brush fire that tore through Pacific Palisades over the weekend, burning 1,325 acres. The irresponsible app posted a photo of the so-called "suspect," started a live broadcast that asked listeners to "hunt this guy down," and "bring this guy to justice," and even offered $30,000 to anyone who caught the man. But after all that, Citizen had the wrong dude.
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