Emerald Citizen is a mobile application that allows trained citizens to collect information related to possible sex trafficking activity and send it to a data repository. The data is not public but may be accessed by authorized law enforcement to help build their cases.
Sex trafficking occurs in practically every city in our country. Law enforcement are trained to recognize it but do not have the manpower to effectively monitor all activity in their communities. The goal of Emerald Citizen is to train the citizens of our community how to recognize signs of sex trafficking and safely collect and report needed information. This dramatically increases the coverage in a community. Law enforcement can search and utilize the collected data and will contact the person who reported relevant information in order to build strong cases against offenders.
Because traffickers move their victims constantly, future implementations of Emerald Citizen can be distributed and used across many communities. Law enforcement will be able to access data from other cities to determine movement of traffickers and victims. This will allow them to collaborate in a way that has not been possible before.
Acknowledgments: US Ignite, Private Foundation (prefers to remain anonymous), Eugene Police Department
Team Information: Pamela Kinion
[email protected]
541-520-9389