Design for a Crime Reporting App

Overview

Client

2Witness, a social impact organization that supports crime victims and witnesses while promoting the importance of daring to testify or report crimes.

Mission

I was hired by Startup Strats, a consultancy firm specializing in supporting startups, as the product designer for this project with 2Witness. 2Witness was in the early stages of developing their app idea. While they had started discussions with stakeholders, they needed a clickable prototype to better communicate their vision. I led the product design work and successfully created a clickable prototype by the end of the weekend, ready for stakeholder presentations.

Design areas

User Interface Design
UX Workshop
Iteration
Prototyping

Final version

The process - step 1

Discovery

Client Understanding

The first step was to get acquainted with 2Witness's vision and plans for the product. I participated in sessions with business strategists at Startup Strats alongside 2Witness to better understand their mission, user group, and goals for the weekend.

We established that the app’s primary function would allow users to film a crime on their phone and directly send the footage to the police as evidence, anonymously, but with a geo tag of the location.

The target user group was identified as younger adults with smartphones, who are more likely to record a crime they witness.

The process - step 2

User Journey & Workshop

Journey mapping

I facilitated a workshop to define the user journey, mapping out the key steps in the process:

The user sees a crime happening (e.g., a bike is stolen).
The user brings up their phone to record the crime.
The user sends the video directly to the police.
The user does not want to keep the video on their phone to avoid potential confrontation with the person committing the crime.

The process - step 3

Wireframing & Prototyping

Wireframing

I transformed the user journey into wireframes and presented them as grayscale designs in Figma. After a discussion with 2Witness, we agreed to proceed with a clickable prototype to showcase the final product.

I developed a clickable prototype that included the following features:

Video as the Primary Option: Users are presented with video recording as the default, with the ability to toggle to photo mode if needed.
Record Button with Timer: A clear record button was designed, featuring a timer at the top to display the video’s duration.
Stop Button: A prominent stop button allows users to end the recording easily.
Send Button (Skicka): A "Skicka" button enables users to quickly send the video directly to the police.

Expanding the prototype

To meet the client’s expressed need to showcase diverse scenarios for different user groups, I finalized additional videos for the prototype. These scenarios were chosen to highlight various use cases and demonstrate the app’s versatility:

Witnessing a Robbery: Capturing a crime in progress to provide evidence for the police.
Witnessing Domestic Violence (Through a Child’s Eyes): Addressing sensitive situations where a child might capture evidence anonymously.
Witnessing a House Fire: Recording a fire to send directly to the fire department, helping them assess the situation and determine the necessary resources and equipment to bring.

These scenarios enriched the prototype, showing its potential to serve a range of user needs and emergency contexts.

The final prototype

This prototype showcases a mobile app designed to allow users to record and instantly send video evidence of crimes or emergencies to the relevant authorities. The app is built with simplicity and privacy in mind, ensuring a seamless user experience for both witnesses and victims.

Key Features:

Video as Default Recording Mode: Users can quickly start recording by pressing the record button. The app also allows toggling to photo mode if needed.
Time Display: The recording interface includes a timer to indicate the video’s length.
Instant Submission: Once the recording is finished, users can instantly send the video to the police or relevant authorities with the “Skicka” (Send) button.
Automatic Video Deletion: After submission, the video is automatically deleted from the user’s phone to prevent potential witness harassment.