An app which lets residents of Binh Thanh District submit legal violations to local authorities has been successful in a pilot run.
Tuoi Tre reports that over the last two months Binh Thanh officials have been experimenting with a mobile app called 'Binh Thanh Truc Tuyen,' or 'Binh Thanh Online.'
Available on both Android and iOS devices, the app lets users report legal violations such as garbage and wastewater dumping, sidewalk occupancy and illegal construction projects in the district.
Duong Hong Thang, Binh Thanh's deputy chairman, told the news source that the app has been downloaded over 2,000 times, while more than 1,100 reports have been submitted, mostly related to people blocking sidewalks.
Thanks to the photo-submission feature, anyone who reports a violation can provide solid proof of the problem they have noticed. Nguyen Tien Phuoc, deputy chairman of Ward 9 in the district, shared that this also makes it easier to fine people or businesses who try to hide what they've done before officials arrive.
The news source also shares that district leaders will connect the app to the local police force in the future so that reports are sent directly to them. Currently submissions go to the local People's Committees before being forwarded to the relevant authorities.
Thang, the district deputy chairman, told Tuoi Tre, "We are working on a way to reward constructive tattletales and encourage more citizens to take part in monitoring urban order."
District 12 is in the process of developing a similar app called 'HCMCOne' which will be released later this month, the news source reports.
[Photo via Tuoi Tre]
