Brookline Police Release App To Report Anonymous Tips

BROOKLLINE, MA — There's a new way to let police know if you're concerned about crime or something strange in the neighborhood. The Brookline Police Department just released a free app for reporting crimes and suspicious activity - anonymously.

This appears to be in addition to app the town released last year, called BrookOnLine that allows folks to report potholes, out streetlights, sidewalk issues, damaged signs and trees down. There is a section on that app that allows folks to report graffiti, abandoned bikes and broken parking meters to the police. This one will allow folks to go beyond just those three types of reports to alert police.

A Newton-based firm, Defend Dynamics, created the app, the Brookline Police Community Safety App (dubbed BPD Safety App). The app is similar to apps used by police in neighboring cities, such as the MyPD Smartphone App in Cambridge, Chelsea, Watertown, and Quincy. Unlike those apps, however, the Brookline app is just to submit tips, and to receive emergency safety alerts.

Boston uses an anonymous text "Crime Stoppers" system, rather than an app.

“The Brookline Police Department has always relied on residents to relay helpful tips to our department,” Brookline Police Chief Andrew Lipson said in a statement on Facebook. “The BPD Safety App facilitates seamless and open communication between the police and the people we serve — a cornerstone of a safe community.”

Some people are apprehensive about calling the police, and would prefer to not have to talk to anyone. Brookline police hope this mode will spur more open communication between the department and residents, and ensure the community is safe.

“We want residents to help us keep Brookline safe, but we understand that not everyone is comfortable calling us.”

This isn't for emergency situations, but it is for reporting things that don't require immediate police response, officers stress.

The app doesn't come without some concern. In discussion groups on social media, some residents worry it could lead to targeting minorities, when people with implicit bias or just bias direct police to "suspicious people" because of their skin color.

There's a meeting scheduled for the CDICR Wednesday, at 6:30 p.m. at the Denny Room in the public health building.

"Any reporting mechanism can have unintended and improper use, " said Brookline's diversity commission director Lloyd Gellineau. "The concerns raised by some community members are valid. I also believe that the app has value in helping the Town be safe. What really matters to me is how the information is determined to be credible- meaning is there a real public safety concern being reported or is it something else, and how the information is acted upon. Despite the concern for potential racial targeting, the app can also be used to report incidences of racial harassment by both the target of the harassment and witnesses too. "

Check out the two-minute video that describes how to download the app (available for iphone and android). Just search "Brookline Police Community Safety" to find the app:

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).