App-elles, The Sorority, Sekura or even Help and react… In recent years, applications for smartphones have presented themselves as solutions to street attacks and harassment. A week ago, Secumap was added to the list. “It’s a GPS that helps to avoid aggression,” summarizes its creator Jean Carrillo.
Secumap’s concept goes further than that already thought out by Citymapper and stands out thanks to the “experience” of the person who imagined the project, assures the latter. Jean Carrillo is a boxing trainer and has trained combat gendarmerie services. He then reflected on the concept by being “as close as possible to the people who witness this violence”.
“The problem with other apps is that they don’t match reality,” he says. We don’t have time for attacks! They last on average between fifteen and twenty seconds. »
Alternative routes depending on the events encountered on the way
But then, what does Secumap offer? In summary, this software is a kind of “Waze against crime”, image its initiator. “Secumap has an interface like the one we use for our journeys. It traces a route and if, on this path, a user has reported an aggressive individual or pickpockets, it suggests alternative routes. »
He adds: “As for an accident reported on Waze, if we have an alert, we will be careful. It is exactly the same principle imagined for Secumap. »
According to Jean Carrillo, the strength of the application is to be “in real time” with very regular updates. But it can only work thanks to “a security community”, “benevolent” and “trusted”. “The more people who download the application and report facts, the less risk there will be of attacks in the public space,” he says. He is aware that he will not “defeat all crime” but he hopes to be “a grain of sand” to “help at least one person. »
A free and ad-free application
The designer has already approached cybersecurity experts to filter those who would like to have fun making false reports. After 100,000 users, only people who have an invitation link will be able to register. “I take the lead,” he smiles. This is also the very idea of the application: always be one step ahead and prevent instead of curing. “He reminds all the same that it is necessary to contact the police when one witnesses a scene. A special button will be “coming soon” directly on the platform.
Less than a week after its launch, Secumap has already been downloaded more than 5,000 times. A proof of its necessity according to its creator. “It’s free and it will remain so,” he says. The app is also ad-free. Asked about the economic model, Jean Carrillo replies simply: “I don’t do it for the money. »