Portland high-schoolers are helping keep its community safe all thanks to a mobile app they created.
Partnering with the Portland Police, 14 students from Franklin and Wilson High School spent the past few months learning how to code and working on an app that allows the Bureau to collaborate with its community more efficiently to help keep neighborhoods safe.
The app, which is set for release next month, offers a public platform for general announcements, crime alerts or be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) notifications that can include things like descriptions of people or car license plates.
The project came together with help from the Innovation Academy, a new Tech Start Education Foundation initiative that lets students from around Oregon participate in summer programs to develop software alongside business leaders, teachers and other high-profile members in the community. Participants, who will receive mentorship from industry experts, will work through the summer and unveil their work in the fall when the school year begins.
Previously on GeekWire: High school hackathon: 500 budding teen geeks learn how to code