Using a Design Science Approach to Create and Evaluate a Social Media Crime Reporting Tool in a Developing Country: Case Jamaica

摘要

Latin America and Caribbean countries account for a considerable percentage of the homicide rate globally. The level of crime in this region has had a negative effect on growth and development. We posit that the use of social media as a crime reporting tool could have a positive impact in these economies. Therefore the purpose of this research is to use design science to create a social media crime reporting tool to be implemented in Jamaica. Over a period of eighteen months the research and development team engaged with members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to assess design requirements for this artifact. We present the preliminary results from the first interaction of the design cycle, which suggest that privacy and security risks, protecting the identity of informants, verifying evidence submission and reconciling Jamaica's legislation with the use of the artifact are major concerns for members of the JCF.