Crowdsourced Crimefighting

July 6, 2011 By Aminda

Last month saw some creative ways to use social media and crowdsourcing to fight crime, providing an interesting comparison and contrast. In Egypt, an organized Twitter campaign was launched to bring awareness to widespread sexual harassment in the country. The organization HarassMap teamed up with activists and bloggers in Egypt and throughout the region to encourage citizens to use blogging and social media to share their experience with harassment and what they think needs to be done for it to stop.

Reporters are asked to submit the location of incidents, which are put on a map, alerting women to areas of the city where sexual harassment is particularly common. Currently there is no law in Egypt that defines sexual harassment as a crime or provides a formal means to report incidents. According to a Christian Science Monitor article, more than 80 percent of women have reported being subject to offenses ranging from catcalling and propositions to assault and rape. Even Egyptian men are getting involved, desiring to live in a country where their wives, daughters and mothers are safe.

On the other side of the world, in Canada, another social media crime-fighting campaign generated global attention. Riots in Vancouver were documented on social media by thousands of citizens who posted images and videos of participants. The goal was to aid police in identifying and catching perpetrators. Social media commentators offered plenty of opinion and insight into this modern incident of “public shaming”. As one columnist pointed out, this is simply one, albeit extreme, example of how, increasingly, one is defined by his or her digital reputation. Companies use Twitter and Facebook for reference checks and many continue to keep tabs of employees’ online behavior indefinitely. However, another writer points out all of the innocent bystanders whose reputations may also be tarnished and questions whether this “alternative justice system” is entirely positive.

Both of these campaigns used similar methods to achieve justice. However, one was organized and intentional, the other spontaneous and emotional. Are either of these methods more effective? Which will have more impact on the future use of social media to end crime?


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