News
EDITORIAL: See something, Send Something
Cassie Sheets, Valdosta Times, Apr 29, 2018
We are impressed and recommend the state’s new “See Something, Send Something” smartphone app that directs the public’s concerns to local law enforcement. See Something, Send Something operates across the nation and now in Georgia.
The app allows people to report suspicious activity and was designed to help in the fight against terrorism and other crimes.
“As technology continues to drastically change our world, public safety remains a top priority,” Gov. Nathan Deal said in his unveiling of the app. “While we work to make our state a safer place to live, work and raise a family, Georgia citizens and law enforcement must cooperate to deter crime and report suspected terrorism within our communities. This launch of ‘See Something, Send Something’ is the latest step in ensuring that Georgia is not only the No. 1 state for business, but also the safest state to call home.”
Deal’s office explained that See Something, Send Something provides a platform to capture a photo of suspicious activity or send in information with written text. Information received in the app is sent directly to the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center where the tips can be evaluated and provided to law enforcement across the state as needed. It is available at no cost for iPhone, iPad and Android phone users.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety, along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency worked together to bring See Something, Send Something to the state, and we commend them for the effort.
DPS Commissioner Mark McDonough explained it this way, “No matter how hard we work to ensure that our communities are safe, inevitably some people will seek to do harm to others. One way citizens can help keep our cities safe is to assist law enforcement by immediately making reports of suspicious activity, and this application provides an easy way to do just that.”
My Mobile Witness, Inc., is the company providing the service and it said the app uses privacy protection software to protect personal information and what it called the “integrity of tips.”
The system, the company said, does not track locations or store any personal information of the senders. Submitted tips are immediately removed from the mobile device and purged from the My Mobile Witness system following delivery to GISAC, they said.
It should be clear that the app does not take the place of 911. It is not intended for emergency calls.
Georgia is the 10th state to participate in See Something, Send Something. The service is already available in Alabama, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
To download See Something, Send Something users can go to: https://bit.ly/2JxezX2
We like the way McDonough explained its usefulness, “People with common sense see things that just stand out. They don’t make sense. It gives that power of modern technology in everybody’s hand to help police out to try to avert those things. It is a very, very simple app that can be downloaded for free and everybody can use it. You want to make Georgia a safer place? This is one way the community can help us avert those tragedies.”