SafeSpace: Police the Police

Mobile Application Feature design
within Tech constraints

PROJECT
“SafeSpace’s mission is to save lives.” SafeSpace seeks to minimize unwarranted murders of unarmed victims at the hands of police. When a user is being pulled over, activating the SafeSpace App notifies their “allies” or nearby responders, to come witness and record the interaction. After the interaction is over, the user and any responding allies complete a brief in-app question and answer “safety check” about the interaction. They can also rate the police officer. The data collected provides valuable feedback to the users, their community and the police. The data focuses on preventative actions and allows SafeSpace to “police the police.”

“Police killings and other incidents of brutality have led to fear, distrust, and insecurity, especially for communities of color. SafeSpace is designed to keep people safe while tracking officers’ conduct in real time.” — SafeSpace website

“This isn’t about the tech, it is about the community so police are not afraid of blacks and blacks aren’t afraid of police.” — Mondo Davison

CHALLENGE
“How do we reshape the narrative of policing?” SafeSpace already had a working mobile application and a website. The challenge they presented was to refine, scope and propose additional features and functionality that fit within their technical constraints and budget.

SafeSpace Users:

• Primary User: Individuals who experience a police encounter/incident during a traffic stop, pedestrian stop or house call.

• Secondary User: People who want to sign-up to be an ally or witness to a police encounter/incident.

• Emergency Contacts of the primary user.

• Community Members, Police or anyone who wants to review the data collected from police incidents.

THE APPROACH
This project began with a stakeholder interview and identification of SafeSpace’s goals to look for opportunities to design new features.

The client had allocated 25 total software points for the development budget. Software for Good conducted a tech scoping session, assessed and rated each of our feature cards by software points.

RESULTS
After gathering an extensive amount of information, we evaluated, reviewed, analyzed and categorized it. Our team created over 40 feature card ideas and prototyped these out as low fidelity wireframes. Of these, 10 were selected for Kano Analysis and refined into high fidelity prototypes for the Kano survey.

Based on the Kano survey results, information gathered and stakeholder goals, I chose 7 from the list of 10 features to incorporate into the app. I presented these to the client as annotated wireframes. 

1. Text Messages to Emergency Contacts — 2 Points (7-10 hours dev time)

2. Audio Recording and Live Streaming — 8 Points (70-120 hours dev time)

3. Witness / Ally Arrival Notification — 2 Points (7-10 hours dev time)

4. Police Interaction Guide — 5 Points (36-48 hours dev time)

5. My Rights Guide — 3 Points (14-20 hours dev time)

6. Ally Interaction Guide (Ally Assists) — 3 Points (14-20 hours dev time)

7. Thank You Text Message to Allies Who Responded — 2 Points (7-10 hours dev time)

New Proposed Features = 25 Software Points

View my SafeSpace App annotated wireframes (PDF)

View my SafeSpace App interactive prototype (Axure RP)