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Communication between the public and the police often fails to reflect the whole picture, while the commanders are not always aware of problems in interactions. A new US startup project aims to communicate to police departments how their communities really feel and to help communities have their voices heard. Through My90, a platform that lets people communicate feedback anonymously with their local police departments, anonymous text messages manage to bridge the gap between residents and police.
The startup, led by the students Kona Shen and Mustafa Abdul-Hamid doesn’t have an app—it’s all through two-way text messaging so that users don’t need to have a smartphone to share their experiences. The name comes from the startup’s statistic that “90 percent of the story is lost when the public and the police interact.”
According to mashable.com, anyone who was pulled over, stopped and frisked, or just wants to share their experience with an officer can text My90’s number. The platform complements the work of Black Lives Matter and other activist groups by opening up a new line of communication between communities and law enforcement.
My90 doesn’t only use language like asking if residents were “satisfied” with their police encounter. Instead, the platform asks if officers were professional and respectful and if they followed police procedure by introducing themselves and letting people ask questions. The platform will also send out information like reminding users that officers are often supposed to give them a business card with their identifying information after an encounter.
People who use My90 can share more information about their police encounters as they communicate more with the platform over time. Law enforcement officials then see anonymized, aggregated feedback. My90 will tell police departments, for example, if 40 percent of their community has the same concern.
The system can update residents on local police activity, neighborhood events, and resources, as well as on what happens with the feedback they and shared, according to the project website.
My90 started its pilot program over summer 2016 and now works with law enforcement in several cities in California, Washington, Indianapolis and Texas. Law enforcement has used My90 to try to better gauge how communities are feeling. My90 works as a middle ground between civilian and activist groups and police departments.
