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It doesn’t matter if you’re a first time traveler to a city or visiting it for the hundredth time…staying safe is important. Oftentimes, we assume that if we don’t see a crime happening right in front of our faces that we’re safe. This assumption couldn’t be more wrong. Crimes are prevalent in every city around the world. But instead of living in fear and staying confined to your hotel room, the app SpotCrime has been helping people become more aware of their surroundings. How is this possible?
According to the description, “Using the compass and camera in the iPhone 3GS, SpotCrime gives you a realtime view of the streets and city around you, overlaid with specific crime incidents as depicted with bold, colorful icons. Want to know whether it’s safe to walk down a particular street? Aim SpotCrime at it and know right away!” (source)
Think of SpotCrime as the police officer on your phone. I can’t tell you how many times I ventured down “unsafe streets” in cities I wasn’t familiar with just because I didn’t know. Many tourists can attest to the same thing and instead of putting yourself in a dangerous situation, SpotCrime will give you a heads up of your surroundings. Of course SpotCrime isn’t psychic and can’t “guess” where the next crime will happen. Nor will the app ensure that the area you’re in will be completely crime-free. Your best bet is to use caution and stay alert no matter where you’re visiting and especially at night. For that added level of security, we think SpotCrime is awesome.
Download the app at the Apple store for $2.99 and get it free at Google Play.
