Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 6/18/2015
SPRINGFIELD – Your pastor or rabbi may be asking you to consider helping to keep the streets of your city safer.
The Council of Churches of Western Massachusetts is promoting a free smartphone app called Ice Black Box, which according to its website “turns your smartphone into a personal surveillance camera wherever you are.”
John Pearson, chair of the council, said that asking people to use the app is a follow-up on the council’s anti-crime campaign from last year called “Eyes on Springfield.”
Archbishop Timothy Paul, the patriarch of the International Communion of the Holy Christian Orthodox Church, a member of the council, noted there have been 12 murders in the city so far this year.
“We are trying to be proactive and give tools to our parishioners,” he said.
When people see something suspicious or a crime in progress, people who open the app and press the emergency button to record video, audio and the precise location of a person’s phone. That information is saved on a secure cloud server, sent to a list of contacts, including the police and 911 can be called.
Paul explained the information gathered by using Ice Black Box cannot be erased. He added the app could be valuable in cases of bullying and domestic violence.
“It’s a powerful tool and resource for our parishioners and senior citizens,” Paul said.
Springfield Police Sgt. Reggie Miller said the app would give the police “another connection to the community.”
To download the app and to get additional information, go to www.iceblackbox.com.