The government of Liberia has recently started giving away specially programmed mobile phones to villages so they can report crimes to the local police for free. 10 phones will be given away to prominent people in each of 400 neighborhoods in and around the capital city, Monrovia.
Following the demobilization of militia groups which formed during the civil wars of the 1990’s, crime has become endemic in the country. With the country’s approximate 85% unemployment rate, most of the young adults who gave up their arms have not found replacement jobs and turned to violent crime.
But there’s a catch. One of the most desirable items for criminals to steal are mobile phones… Go figure how will this work.
[Via: Cellular-News]