DETROIT — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced on June 3 the launch of Mobile Justice MI, a free downloadable mobile-device application that allows users to record and quickly report police misconduct. The app provides content in English, Arabic and Spanish.

Released amid mounting statewide concern about law-enforcement abuse following several high-profile beatings and killings by local officers and federal agents, Mobile Justice MI offers three user functions—“record”, “witness” and “report.”

“Record” allows citizens to capture exchanges between police officers and themselves or other community members in audio and video files that are automatically sent to the ACLU of Michigan, so the videos remain even if officers seize the phone and delete them.

“Witness” sends out an alert when someone is stopped by police so that community members can move toward the location and document the interaction. Report gives the app user the option to complete an incident report and send it directly to the ACLU of Michigan for review.

The application, which is available in iOS and Android versions and can be downloaded through the ACLU of Michigan website, also contains a section that gives an overview of what rights citizens can exercise when stopped by police officers.

In addition, Mobile Justice MI will allow users to connect to ACLU content such as videos, audio podcasts, reports, websites and calls to action. 

ACLU of Michigan spokesman Darrell Dawsey said statistics and anecdotal evidence shows that immigrants are often targets of police brutality. 

“By providing this app in Arabic and Spanish, we hope to empower vulnerable immigrant communities against questionable, unethical practices of police departments and officers,” he told The Arab American News.

Dawsey added that the civil rights group is under no illusion that police brutality will cease to exist because of the app. 

“It’s a matter of accountability,” he said. “We hope by capturing instances of police abuse, we will create enough evidence to increase the level of accountability and responsibility from the police.”