The story of iSafety, an app designed to reduce violent crime in some of the most criminally dangerous areas in the world
Famous as tourist destination around the world, Cape Town also has one of the worst violent crime rates on Earth; from the gang lands of the Cape Flats to the neglected townships of Nyanga, it has a murder rate more than 10 times that of the United States.
For 12 years The Safety Lab, a crime reduction NGO and innovation initiative, worked on reducing and mitigating the impact of violent crime in the city. Working with the City of Cape Town and local app developers Afrolabs, the Safety Lab developed and started deploying iSafety (later iCommunity); an app designed for closed user groups of trusted community members and violence reduction specialists to reduce violent crime through pro-social community action
Its story, from development to deployment in some of the most criminally dangerous areas in the world whilst navigating the bureaucratic politics of a large city, will be of interest to anyone with a background in software development, municipal politics, or crime reduction.
Join the team of criminologists, violence interrupters and developers for the story of iSafety's start, evolution and ultimate fate.