Real-Time Reporting, Real-World Effects: How Community College Students View Crowdsourced Crime Apps

• In Event: The Role of Technology in Perceptions of Crime and Victimization Risk

Abstract

This study explores community college student attitudes toward crowdsourced surveillance and crime apps like Citizen. In an era defined by location-based public safety apps, community college students occupy a unique vantage point on how crowdsourced surveillance shapes perceptions of crime and fear. This study explores their attitudes toward platforms like Citizen, investigating the interplay between real-time alerts, perceptions of safety and localized fear. Drawing on responses from a self-administered online questionnaire, the findings revealed that most participants are familiar with or actively use such apps. However, the same students voiced apprehension over the potential for misinformation and the psychological toll of constant crime notifications, particularly the anxiety that arises from distressing alerts. A sentiment analysis of class discussion forums further uncovered a delicate balance between viewing these tools as indispensable for personal and communal security versus worrying about their encroachment on privacy, concerns about racial profiling and the broader implications of mass surveillance. This research highlights the importance of studying how these crowdsourcing surveillance and crime apps might alter the perceptions of safety and the fears of crime.

Author

• Satenik Margaryan, Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY