In the fight against the ever-increasing racial profiling in the United States; a Gambian man Mbye Njie has invented an app to help tackle the menace.
Mbye Njie has had a personal experience on a series of racial profiling and brutality and coupled with the unfortunate case of Michael Brown; Njie decided to develop a mobile application to help protect lives.
Named Legal Equalizer, the application is an emergency contact app that allows users to immediately contact their loved ones; by way of either text, video, or live streams just with the stroke of a button when one faces security threats. The application also equips users with the laws of about 50 states plus guidelines on what to do in certain encounters.
Over the years, Njie has made sure that more advanced features are added in a bid to minimize all the possible security loopholes users could face; the young man has incorporated a concept that allows victims to directly contact attorneys on live sessions; for advice in the process on what to do or for the attorneys to also record the incidents as it unfolds. This also provides jobs for the attorneys who use the platform.
Mbye Njie
In a recent interview, with BNC, Njie stated that his app; “saves lives before something happens, rather than wait for something to happen first before we get mad about it.” He explained further that; “at the touch of a button, you can now let your loved ones know exactly where you are that you’ve been stopped and a map of how to get to exactly where you are as well.”
Njie is of the view that; the idea of having loved ones with you in a live session during an encounter with officers courts a sense of humanitarianism; which could calm situations; especially if these officers see the faces of relatives. Njie added that the essence of having people informed in such situations; also guarantees real-time witnesses for legal support in case things escalate.
He advised users to remain law-abiding whilst using the platform in order not to interfere in the legal duties of officials he added that; so far as there is no form of interference, one has the legal right to film such encounters.
The application has been helpful so far as he revealed in his interview that positive feedback has been recorded over the period; serving as motivation for him to do more to maintain the platform to boost the fight against police brutalities; and all other security threats, prioritizing the safety of users.
