Online Map of Violent Acts Launched in Serbia

Serbs are being encouraged to report violent incidents they see or encounter to a website so that people can get a better idea of how safe their country or city really is.

As of December 12 they can become "Super-citizens" if they report the violent acts they witness around them to an online site, "Supergradjanin" ("Super citizen").

Darko Sokovic, from the NGO Dokukino, which is behind the initiative, said the goal was to create a database of violent incidents in society and so better engage ordinary people in the fight against violence.

"It is important to show that people can make changes in society - and how new media are a readily available tool for strengthening civic activism," Sokovic told Balkan Insight.

When people see, or are victims of, violent incidents, they should visit the webpage or send a text message with basic information on the incident and map the location.

"This is how we will not get only figures on the number and sorts of violence but also on the locations where they have occured," Sokovic said. "Our goal is to alert the authorities so they take the necessary action," he added.

There are eight categories of violence that people can report: family, against women, at work, on an ethnic basis, against gays and lesbians, violent acts in public and violence among peers.

New categories may be formed later, as people continue reporting fresh incidents, Sokovic noted.

Similar mechanisms for monitoring violence already exist in other countries. A website in Brazil, (WikiCrimes.org), is one of the best known.

In Brazil, where confidence in the police is minimal, data on violence from the website were so dramatically different to the figures produced by the police that the police were forced to change their whole approach.

One problem with online reporting of violence is verification of reported cases, as some people may be tempted to submit false reports.

"I hope such cases will remain a statistical blip only," Sokovic concluded.