A public safety app is partnering with the San Francisco Chinese American Association of Commerce to provide free memberships to the city’s AAPI community.
According to KRON4, the Citizen app is offering about 20,000 one-year premium access memberships to the Asian American community in San Francisco.
The app provides a network that gives real-time 911 alerts, an on-line citizen agent to call if feeling unsafe, and location tracking for friends and families. It also lets residents report crimes and suspicious activity.
The agreement is a response to the increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.
Anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) hate crimes in San Francisco jumped 567% from 2020 to 2021, according to preliminary data released by the city’s police department to AXIOS.
The Citizen app already has 12 million users throughout the U.S, including 640,000 in the Bay Area, according to KRON4.
President of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce Carl Chan told KRON4 that he encourages the Asian community to use this app.
“I just want people to try,” Chan said. “I’m so appreciative that people are trying different ways to protect people. I also think we need to try it out and see if it will work. if it works well, I think we need to expand this service.”
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.
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