Citizens urged to support Boston Marathon safety by downloading VizSAFE mobile app to instantly share photos and videos with first responders

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boston, MA USA – April 15, 2014 – VizSAFE, the only universal mobile crowdsourcing safety app and community website, today announced it will be monitored by law enforcement during the 118th Boston Marathon. VizSAFE, like other social media, is free and empowers the “crowd” to capture photos or videos of anything that impacts the well-being of the athletes, family, fans and spectators at the Marathon.

The public is urged to download the VizSAFE app to share in the responsibility of keeping the Marathon safe. Any photo or video captured can be instantly shared with other citizens and when appropriate with first responders. The free VizSAFE mobile app can be downloaded at the iTunes and/or Android Store or www.vizsafe.com/bostonmarathon

After last year’s Marathon tragedy, investigators reviewed 13,000 videos and 120,000 photos, much of it sent by fans from their smartphones to help law enforcement. The participation of the “crowd” was enthusiastic and immediate, yet law enforcement analysts were challenged by the lack of a platform to collect and organize this content in an efficient way. As a result, the data mining effort to process and analyze all of the submitted content was unprecedented. VizSAFE is a free platform that solves this problem by aggregating, organizing, mapping and sharing this content with fans, family and first responders in real-time to improve community safety at events, and in everyday life. “The investigation and arrest following last year’s Boston Marathon demonstrated the value of social media to engage the public, improve situational awareness and add clarity,” said Lauri Stevens, Founder of the law enforcement social media advisory firm, LAwS Communications. “If everybody on the route has this app, they are the eyes and ears of the police department in real time,” said Lt. William Fitzgerald of the Newport, RI Police Department, who encouraged citizens to bring VizSAFE on their mobile devices to this year’s Newport St Patrick’s Day Parade.

Peter Mottur, CEO of VizSAFE added “Looked at from the perspective of citizens, it is a way to actively engage in the well being of their community. Looked at from the perspective of first responders, the crowd is a powerful force multiplier. This was borne out by our experience working with the Port Authority of NY & NJ Police Department at this year’s Super Bowl.”

About VizSAFE, Inc.
VizSAFE is the only 24/7 global platform dedicated to community safety. VizSAFE’s innovative social and mobile web community harnesses the power of citizens to enhance event and community safety by crowdsourcing, organizing and sharing visual safety content in real-time. VizSAFE users are fans and neighbors who support their communities, as well as first responders in fire, emergency medical, law enforcement, environmental, animal safety and more. VizSAFE partners with organizations that care about public safety. Learn more at www.vizsafe.com

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Media Contacts:
Peter Mottur, President & CEO
401-862-2029 mobile
pmottur@vizsafe.com

Claude Sheer, Chairman
617-968-4411 mobile
claude@vizsafe.com

Vizsafe, Inc.
88 Silva Lane, Suite 250
Middletown, RI 02842 USA