Leaked emails show that Citizen app is testing an on-demand private security service that will respond to “incidents” as requested by app users

Citizen would deploy private security forces at the request of app users, according to documents and sources. — Joseph Cox

VICE 2021-05-22 Joseph Cox

Context & Ripple Effects

Citizen had built its audience around nearby crime and incident notifications, as outlined in its earlier crime-tracking app profile. The proposed service would extend that role from informing users about reported events to arranging a response to them.

The timing matters because a Citizen broadcast had just wrongly identified a man as an arson suspect to a large audience. Connecting user-requested incidents to private security raises the stakes of how the platform verifies and moderates reports.

First-order effects

Citizen would become an intermediary between app users requesting help and private security personnel responding to reported incidents.
Users would gain a route to request a physical response through Citizen, while private-security providers would receive work mediated by the app.

Second-order effects

Citizen's error-handling and incident-review processes become more consequential: a flawed alert can no longer be treated solely as misinformation when it may trigger a security response.
The service creates a monetization path beyond alerts, consistent with later reporting on Citizen's efforts to turn user anxiety into premium demand.

Third-order effects

If platforms pair real-time public-safety feeds with private dispatch, the boundary between an information service and a private response system narrows, putting platform moderation at the center of public-safety governance.
Citizen's model would shift competitive pressure toward safety apps that can combine audience engagement, human operators, and response partners rather than supplying alerts alone.

The trend: Safety-alert platforms are moving from distributing incident information toward monetizing access to mediated protection and response.

Discussion

@lorenzofb Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai on x
NEW: Leaked emails show crime app Citizen is testing an on-demand private security force that would be deployed at the request of users. “The broad master plan was to create a privatized secondary emergency response network,” said Citizen ex employee. https://www.vice.com/...
@josephfcox Joseph Cox on x
Scoop: leaked emails, documents, sources show the crime app Citizen is testing an on-demand private security force. You request assistance through the app, a private security force comes to help in minutes. Drastic escalation of what Citizen offers https://www.vice.com/...
@oakmorr Scott Morris on x
I reviewed internal Slack messages showing the CEO of Citizen personally offered to pay a reward for a homeless man falsely accused of starting the Palisades Fire in LA. Citizen hosted a livestream where its hosts encouraged users to “hunt down” the man. https://www.theverge.com/…
@jason_koebler Jason Koebler on x
SCOOP: Leaked emails show that Citizen app is testing an on-demand, real-life private security force that will respond to “incidents” as requested by app users https://www.vice.com/...
@aubreyoday Aubrey O'Day on x
..is this company registered under the last name Zimmerman? Seriously tho... https://twitter.com/...
@oakmorr Scott Morris on x
“We are safety”: the CEO of Citizen, who owns a mansion 10 miles from the Palisades Fire, personally offered a reward through the app to “hunt down” a homeless man that Citizen wrongfully identified as the arsonist, according to internal Slack messages. https://www.theverge.com/.…
@swiftonsecurity @swiftonsecurity on x
A short story in spirit of the Citizen private police force thing: https://twitter.com/...
@conroyforreal Chris Conroy on x
Just deleted Citizen. Living in LA, it was nice to have an app with explanations for any given overhead helicopter, but if this is the price then I ain't buyin'. https://twitter.com/...
@dsaeastbay East Bay Dsa on x
Tech CEO falsely accuses homeless man of starting a wildfire, offers online mob $30,000 reward to hunt him down “Socialism or barbarism” is not a metaphor y'all https://twitter.com/...
@josephfcox Joseph Cox on x
Included this second image of the Citizen-branded car in Los Angeles in the piece. Linked to Los Angeles Professional Security, a private contractor. Our leaked emails show Citizen working with them for on-demand private security https://www.vice.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@kjhealy Kieran Healy on x
The US continues down the road toward the sort of dystopian future society whose economy, in what I believe is @ElliottKalan's phrase, mainly produces flying cars and barrels of burning trash. https://twitter.com/...
@jonrog1 John Rogers on x
I cannot wait for the first people to summon two Citizen security forces to opposite ends of a dark warehouse to watch the shootout. https://twitter.com/...
@oneunderscore__ Ben Collins on x
Robokaren https://twitter.com/...
@ign @ign on x
Leaked emails show Citizen, the crime and neighborhood watch app, reportedly plans to roll out functionality that will send out private security to disturbances based on app user requests. There's no way this can go wrong. https://twitter.com/...
@brlamb Brian Lamb on x
The tech industry responding to a dissolving society with more cop shit. Almost all “innovation” now is grounded in coercion, surveillance, automation, deskilling and a more atomized and inhumane culture. https://twitter.com/...
@josephfcox Joseph Cox on x
In one of the tests, Citizen dispatched a private security force to escort a Citizen employee to get coffee. Apparently the response times of this feature have improved https://www.vice.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@youngsinick Michael Arceneaux on x
I can only imagine what many of these users would cite as “incidents” to a private security force, but either way we don't need a gig economy for law enforcement. https://twitter.com/...
@aaronsibarium Aaron Sibarium on x
If only there were an alternative to private security forces that could be deployed at the request of citizens. https://twitter.com/...
@mmasnick Mike Masnick on x
Anyone even *remotely* familiar with how Citizen has been used historically should be absolutely horrified at the prospect of this vigilante nonsense. https://twitter.com/...
@qjurecic Quinta Jurecic on x
incredible that this nightmare product is called, of all things, “citizen” https://twitter.com/...
@derektmead @derektmead on x
How much of customer demand for private security forces as a service (or building a private, less-accountable layer on top of the emergency response system) is influenced by the ill effects of the housing crisis? https://www.vice.com/...
@cityofthetown Tom Dotan on x
Citizen's investors are Sequoia, Greycroft, RRE, Haystack, Kapor https://www.vice.com/...
@nick_garber Nick Garber on x
couldn't count the number of times I've heard residents of the Upper East Side — the affluent neighborhood I cover — insist that crime is skyrocketing (it's not), based entirely on the alerts they get from this terrible, paranoia-inducing app. https://www.theverge.com/...
@brianmcc Brian McCullough on x
Welp, this is some dystopian sci fi shit coming to life right in front of our eyes: https://www.techmeme.com/...
@josephfcox Joseph Cox on x
One of the truly wild section of the emails: says Citizen has pitched its on-demand private security force as a solution to the LAPD. LAPD allegedly thought it could be a game changer. https://www.vice.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@josephfcox Joseph Cox on x
Spoke to multiple sources with knowledge of Citizen's effort to offer a private security force to app users. “It's been something discussed for a while but I personally never expected it to make it this far.” https://www.vice.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@zenalbatross @zenalbatross on x
🙋‍♀️ raise your hand if you're been saying for years that on-demand private security is the logical conclusion of racist snitching apps like Citizen https://www.vice.com/...
@segacd8 Etienne Poliwhirl on x
broke: swatting is a crime woke: swatting is an app https://twitter.com/...
@erinisaway Erin Taylor on x
corporate para police from your fave neighborhood surveillance app https://twitter.com/...
@contextproblem Ayo Hirschman on x
So, one of the sticking points with abolishing the constabulary is the bourgeoisie will hire their own https://twitter.com/...
@josephfcox Joseph Cox on x
Two sources confirmed the product is essentially on-demand private security through the app https://www.vice.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@itmechr3 @itmechr3 on x
The Gulf Monarchies have apps like this they use against migrant workers and it's one of the most horrific systems on earth Moreover, ICE must be destroyed https://twitter.com/...
@bfishbfish Rebecca Fishbein on x
Who could see this coming https://twitter.com/...
@emanuelmaiberg Emanuel Maiberg on x
can't wait for NextDoor and Citizen mercenaries to fight for Brooklyn's sovereignty https://www.vice.com/...
@bruce_arthur Bruce Arthur on x
No way this leads to anything bad! https://twitter.com/...
@jsrailton John Scott-Railton on x
YIKES: “Citizen's original name, before it was removed from the Apple App Store, was Vigilante” Story: @josephfcox https://www.vice.com/...
@hypervisible @hypervisible on x
Crystal clear that the name change from “Vigilante” was purely cosmetic and in no way indicates improved level of responsibility. https://www.theverge.com/...
@hood_biologist Dr. Reading on x
“subscription law enforcement service” means “militia forces for hire” https://twitter.com/...
@iwriteallday_ Clarkisha Kent on x
Literally have “private security” casually driving around places like LA but I'm supposed to car that you don't like being called a “name” 🤨? https://www.vice.com/...
@bigblackjacobin Edward Ongweso Jr on x
Today's dispatch from hell https://www.vice.com/...

Chronicles