Hidden Crimes

Hidden Crimes: Making the Vulnerable less Vulnerable

Old Dominion University – CYSE494

Courtney Spencer

Overview

         Being vigilant to the world around you is something that is instilled in most people from the moment they can walk and reiterated as they continue to age. At a minimum society expects you to know where you are located in the case of emergency. When an individual calls 911 that is one of the very first questions you will be asked. But what about who is around you? Is it not important to know who you may be meeting with for that blind date off of a dating app or even a one on one business meeting with an individual you are not used to working with? The unfortunate truth is that there is corruption everywhere and it only takes a few moments for an innocent meeting to take a turn for the worst. It is obvious that you will not know every individual you come in contact with, you might not even know if they are from the same area as you. However  it could be as simple as logging into an app to have access to information such as  whether or not they have violent history using just their first and last name. In today’s society there are many characteristics that can make a person appear “vulnerable” to others.  Among children, there are also teenagers, young adults, women, members of the LGBTQ+ community and minorities to say the least. The reality is that anyone is susceptible to fall victim to a violent crime committed by a person of ill will. In the app I plan to create, common violent crimes such  as rape, hate crimes, abduction (kidnapping), assault and harassment  is unfortunately more common to the individuals that belong to the previously mentioned communities and will be of focus.

In the age of technology, where general information is so accessible, individuals should also have immediate access to information such as this. No one should have to walk into a potential dangerous situation blindly.  Once the facts are openly known, it can be up to the individual on how they would like to proceed.

The Problem and Innovation

         I propose the creation of an mobile application that can be used to quickly run people’s names and be notified of any violent crimes that one may have been committed in the past. The purpose of the app would be to give individuals the chance to avoid an unfortunate situation. A person apart of the LGBTQ+ community may be a little hesitant about meeting with strangers due to the amount of hate crimes that occur each year. Parents might look up registered sex offenders in a neighborhood they are looking to move into. There are often instances where they might send their child to a home daycare or to a teenagers house for a few hours. In this instance they could use the app to quickly look up all members of the household and quickly decide if that is a safe environment for the child of not. There are plenty of other scenarios where I feel if more knowledge were obtained , the victim may have had a completely different story to tell The problem stems from the lack of accessible information for people who may not be computer literate or are simply in need of a quick run-down on a person of interest. Unfortunately there are too many cases were children who relied on their parents for protection had their innocence taken from them, students continued to trust anyone they meet on campus and fell victim to their malicious intentions, individuals on dating apps weren’t prepared for the worst case scenario, and in all of these instances a once trusted transformed from a safe place to that of a crime scene.

The innocence that children hold makes it difficult to imagine anyone committing any violent crimes against them. The harsh reality is that each year thousands of children fall victim to kidnappings, sexual abuse, online predators, and other violent attacks. Due to being among the most vulnerable portion of the population they are dependent on their parents to be their voice and protect them at all cost. They are unable to make concrete decisions for themselves and rely on the person in charge to have their best interest at heart. Children that are hurting or in a situation that makes them feel uncomfortable need someone who will be their advocate and demand justice. As a parent or responsible adult you are the person to answer to when it comes down to who you let your children spend time with. In many situations children are left with individuals who do unspeakable things to them and if it could all be avoided I’m sure many would rather choose that option. It could be a family member, a close or distant family friend, a babysitter, or even another parent. Even top influencers try to shed light of this topic to help bring awareness that situation of abuse are far too common among children. Oprah Winfrey often discusses her own personal experiences when she was molested by her cousin uncle and a family friend from the ages of nine to fourteen. She and so many others such as Tyler Perry and even Michael Jackson speak of horrific incidents such as her own to continue to shed light on such a dark topic. When these incidents happened to them going to the police was rare and even if the abuser was convicted it was fairly easy to move to a new town and start over where no one knows what you have done in the past or are capable of doing in the present. Now we have technology where we can do background checks on babysitters and other people we choose to let into our lives. We no longer have to be blind-sided to people’s malicious history or future intent.  A parent should not have to jump through hoops to get necessary information on someone their child is going to be around. It should be as simple as typing in a first and last name and a list of all violent crimes committed appears. This application will not be the holy grail that ends all violent crimes against children, but it is a start in a preventative method. It is more reliable than a “good gut feeling” you may get from being around that person. People are cable of faking their personalities and covering up the ugly truth. The app will not only tell you if the person of interest has committed violent crimes against children but generally speaking as well. Nine times out of ten if you are cable of committing any violent crimes to begin with, the parent would choose not to take a risk and put their innocent child in harm’s way to begin with. The goal is to preserve a child’s innocence for as long as possible. Kids deserve to be kids and live their lives without the weight of our corrupted world weighing on there shoulders. With the development of my mobile application the creation of a safer environment where kids can continue to be kids can exist. A place where parents have weeded out the people they deem irresponsible or unfit to advocate and/or care for children of our society. The readiness and easy usability is what will make the app more efficient for parents. A background check can take days if not weeks to come back depending on the specific person of interest and the company in which you are using to perform the check. In this instance the results are instant, you never know when you will need to find that last minute babysitter that you heard of from a friend and haven’t built a relationship with yet. Emergencies and other situations happen like this often and the mobile application can now  provide you with a sense of security in knowing that you haven’t left your child with a person who has a history of violent offenses. Children although among the most vulnerable part of the population are not the only ones that can be seen as too trusting.

Students can also have a tendency to be a bit too trusting when comes to the “stranger danger” theory. While students at any level tend to be a tad more lenient on who they give their time of day to, the focus as it pertains to this mobile application will be on college students. A majority of college students are often away from their home and family from the first time and unfortunately plays a huge role in their overly trusting ways. Many students feel like they are finally adults and their parents can no longer control their lives by telling them who they can and cannot talk to. When dating in high school parents still have somewhat of a say so in who their child deals with and allows in their lives. As with anything nothing is full proof but for the most part parents still have their kids on a “leash”. When in college however that umbrella of protection is no longer there and students are truly able to make their own decisions even if it is a bad one. There are many parties that take place at a University and as much as the school itself likes to seem as if they have a handle on things, unfortunate events happen at these parties. Meeting a stranger at a party while intoxicated one evening is a situation that many students find themselves in and luckily not one hundred percent of these cases end negatively, but there are always some that slip through the crack. In the situations where there was an unlucky victim  the few moments he/she could’ve taken to run a name through the app could have prevented a traumatic experience from happening to begin with. January 18, 2015 a then 22-year-old college student by the name of Chanel  Miller was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old student at Stanford University.  The abuser that goes by the name of Brock Allen Turner was indicted on five charges: two for rape, one for attempted rape, and two for felony sexual assault on. He then proceeded to plead not guilty to all charges and the trial ended with Turner being convicted of three felony sexual assault charges on March 30, 2016. This case raised a lot of discussion due to the fact the after being found guilty of three felony sexual assault cases, California Judge  Aaron Persky reduced the prosecutors’ request for a six year sentence down to six months. This case specifically speaks to a number of cases that have similar outcomes. His six month sentence allows for him to resume his normal life with minimal repercussions. The outcome of his trial can spark much question on whether or not he might perform the terrible act again due to his lenient sentence he received. If he did want to commit the same crime over again, and unless he decided to disclose information about his past, there would be no way another intoxicated individual at a party would know his history.  With access to the app the next individual that comes in contact with Brock Turner can decide for themselves whether he is worth taking a chance over instead of being blind-sided by their lack of knowledge. They can now take the necessary precautions before making the impulse decision to leave with a guy they just met that very night. In the article, “Fear of violent crimes among men and women on campus: the impact of perceived risk and fear of sexual assault”, Jodi Lane studied the individual and combined impact of perceived risk and fear of sexual assault among college students. She finds that the fear of sexual assault in stronger among women than in men. Women are again among the more vulnerable portion of today’s society. People who are around other people that share many similarities tend to let their guard down and be more trusting. The students who have fallen victim to violent crimes committed by their very own peers might have never even given a second thought to the safety of their situation. Parties are not the only instanes where a violent crime can be commtted, It might have very well been a late night study session in the library for an upcoming test in the morning or  it could be an instance where you are invited to a partners house to finish up a group project. A violent crime has the potential to be committed anywhere at any given time and just because a student is interacting with another student does not mean the need to research an individual is not relevant.

Students are also among the many that choose to interact with people through dating apps. They do not make up the entirety of the dating app population but it is very common among college students. Dating apps can pose the same risk if not more of a risk than the violent crimes committed on campus. With dating apps such an Tinder, Grindr, Plenty of Fish, Bumble and many more everyone using the app is a stranger and may not have anything in common with the person they matched with. They only know what the person wants them to know. This pertains to the information provided in their bio’s and the pictures that they choose to upload. The uncertainty behind the profile has the potential to lead to scams, catfishing ploys, and situations where violent crimes are being committed. The truth is you do not know the person who you are dealing with on the other side of pone screen. In an article written by Vicky Spratt in 2016 she states that the number of reported crimes have risen more than sevenfold in the last two years. Her study was performed across England and Wales from around 30 police forces. Despite all the speculation and rumored uncertainty behind dating apps as a whole people are still willing to take the plunge just to find a lover for the night or a long lasting relationship instead of putting in the work to meet people in person “the old fashioned way”. Spratt notes Grindr that in 2015 there were 135 crimes reported compared to the 277 crimes that were reported the same year from Tinder. The Freedom of Information (FOI) also reported that in in the two years between 2013 and 2015 had an increase of six hundred and fifty percent . The crimes that were reported were also mostly violent crimes being that of rape, violent assault, grooming  and attempted murder. The mobile application would once again be of much help in any one of these situations. In a society where violent crimes are being committed every day the bare minimum of doing a quick run through the database on the app could save someone’s life.

Unfortunately there are too many cases were children who relied on their parents for protection had their innocence taken from them, students continued to trust anyone they meet on campus and fell victim to their malicious intentions, individuals on dating apps weren’t prepared for the worst case scenario, and in all of these instances a once trusted environment transformed from a safe place to that of a crime scene. With the creation of my mobile application light can now be shed on the dark histories of the very individuals that go to great lengths to cover up their horrific past. Just because a person is seen as vulnerable to the rest of the world, does not solidify their future as a victim. People have the  right to protect themselves and their loved ones from people that have already proven themselves to be guilty once before. I don’t believe that people have to experience something themselves to believe is it possible. I believe there are people that can learn from others situations and can stop the cycle from continuing. The app is a start to give undermined individuals a head start on a potentially life threatening situation.

Effectiveness

         The effectiveness of the app will be measured in a number of different ways. Application stores such as the Google Play Store, the Apple Store, and the Microsoft Store  have dedicated spaces for customers around the world to leave a quick commit on the app overall. Costumers are able to comment on the usability of the app, the layout and overall design, as well as the content being displayed.  That is a place where the contributors of the app can see first hand what users are saying about the app, what they like and value on the app as well as the negatives that they found if any. This is also a place where they can review the services that are being provided and provide their personal testimonies on whether the app proved to be useful in their lives or not. We encourage the users to talk about whether they valued being able to have the choice to know the violent history of the very people they are or have the potential to associate with.

We will also provide our users with an email address where they will also be encourage to send in their opinions. This can be a place where personal stories and testimonies can be shared that are too sensitive for the rest of the world to see. In the making of the app I realize that there will be some deeply personal stories  and experiences that individuals may want to sure.

Becoming a reality

         Technology always has the potential for technical errors and hiccups along the way. I plan to develop the bones and structure using wireframe to assist in visual representation. The app will not have a public forum present for people to discuss personal stories or events. The only way the app stays credible is for peoples own personal opinions stay off the application. It is made to be a completely reliable and credible source for people to find information on a person of interest. “He said , she said” discussions will be strictly prohibited as that is merely a rumor and cannot be fully trusted. Convicted violent crimes are the only sources of information that have any relevance to the app. To stay relevant the app will also be updated periodicals to give users the best and most updated results for their person of choice.

It is also important for the app to stay simple to use. That is another vital point to the development of the app. The harsh reality is that people do not want to use anything complicated or something that will take up any more time than they have time for. The targeted users are people who need immediate answers, may or may not be computer literate, are among the minorities and have or currently feared for their personal safety at any given moment. It’s purpose is to give as many people as possible to access to information so they can then make the best possible educated decision. The knowledge in which a person can obtain moments before meeting with a complete stranger has the potential to save many lives and at the very least prohibit traumatic experiences from taking place to begin with.

Next Steps

         The creation of an mobile application takes time, dedication, and financial assistance and much more. My next steps would consist of first and foremost finding experienced coders that can assist with the front end and back end development of the application. I would prefer the coders to have experience with multiple codding languages such as C++, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and Python to name a few. Among the skilled coders needed to develop the actual app, I would like to hire a team of web developers and designers to ensure the ease of use within the application. I would like to make the app available worldwide so that is something that my tech team would need to be able to handle. Due the sensitivity of information that is available on the application I feel as though it would be more than necessary to hire a cybersecurity specialist to be on call in the case the app has been hacked into and the information being provided is being tampered with. We want our users to feel confident that they are accessing the proper and true information. The need to rent office spaces around the world would be unnecessary and would help with the overall financial cases. One office space would more than effective to get all the necessary work accomplished. I can employ people around the world as they will more than likely be able to work remotely. I will be looking to get investors to invest in our innovation as a the first source of funding. The second source of funding will be coming from loans and/or grants.

Bibliography

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