In the wake of recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, three Georgia teens are taking their protest to programming by creating an app called “Five-O” for users to record, submit and share encounters with police.
The mobile app, created by siblings Caleb, 14, Asha, 15, and Ima Christian, 16, gives users the opportunity “to record and store data from every encounter with law enforcement” and share them with the community. It offers a rating system for individual officers and police departments and includes a “Know Your Rights” section containing information from the American Civil Liberties Union.
“The idea is to collect data that users can then bring to community activists, the media, and other forms of law enforcement. That way, it’s not just ‘he said, she said,'” Caleb said.
Actively involved in coding and programming, Ima explained that this app was made possible through the experience she and her siblings gained from programs like MIT’s +K12, Scratch, and AppInventor among others. Both of their parents have a background in technology and encourage their children to focus on creating solutions.
“We’ve been hearing about the negative instances in the news, for instance most recently the Michael Brown case, and we always talk about these issues with our parents,” Ima told Business Insider. “They always try to reinforce that we should focus on solutions. It’s important to talk about the issues, but they try to make us focus on finding solutions. That made us think why don’t we create an app to help us solve this problem.”
“Five-O”, the third app under the umbrella of their company Pintart Inc. alongside Coily, a review app for black hair care products, and Froshly, an app to help college-bound freshmen socialize before meeting, released this week on Android and is pending review from Apple for iOS. Check out a video preview below.
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BMWK–What are your thoughts on this app? What discussions or solutions have you discussed with your children?