LONDON, September 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
The phone app that tracks police stop-and-search incidents is set to launch 2-9-2013
The Stop & Search App is aimed at bringing more fairness and transparency to the Stop and Search procedure carried out by UK Police. It allows the public to stay up to date with what their rights are when they are Stopped and Searched and also allows them to hold the Police accountable for how Stop and Search is being used.
The free App was created by Aaron Sonson, Satwant Singh and Gregory Packowski as part of the Apps for Good course, which was run at the High Trees Development Trust in Tulse Hill, South London. The course was all about empowering young people to bring a positive social impact to their communities through the use of mobile technology.
The "Upload Your Experience" feature in the app allows the user to provide feedback regarding how they feel they were treated when they were Stopped and Searched. This feedback is then uploaded with the ID number of the officer who carried out the Stop & Search and the location in which the encounter took place.
Aaron Sonson, Co-founder of the app says "the public's uploaded experiences will provide a detailed picture of how Stop and Search is being used in the UK, providing a way for us to monitor and improve how the procedure is being carried out." For example, if a certain officer's badge number keeps coming up with negative experiences from the public, we will highlight this and seek answers as to why this is happening with the relevant authority." The uploaded experiences of the public will also be displayed on the Stop & Search App website, further increasing the level of transparency of the controversial procedure.
The creators of the app have found their idea welcomed and supported at various talks and presentations that they have given at different community events and Secondary Schools in the London area. The Metropolitan Police were also keen to support the idea and offered to fund the development of the app; however, the offer was declined by the apps creators as they say they want to remain independent of the Police.
The prototype version of the app was released in May 2012 and has already received over 3000 downloads on Blackberry phones. The official launch of the app will see it made available to download on iPhone, Android and Blackberry phones.
The apps creators received a Liberty Human Rights "Close To Home" Award at the end of September 2012 and have been featured on national news streams such as The ITV Evening News and the Guardian Newspaper.
To get the app go to the Stop & Search app website http://www.stopandsearch.org where you can find the links to download the app on Android, Blackberry and iPhone.
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Send emails to stopandsearchapp@gmail.com to get more information.
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