As the COVID-19 outbreak began in the early days of 2020, Nairobi-native Ken Wechuli began working to document crimes in the city.
Starting by contacting a few friends for information, and subsequently partnering with a team of software developers, Wechuli has since built a real time database of crimes throughout Kenya.
This effort culminated in Atlas Crime: a free, invitation-only app that alerts members to incidents of crime in real-time.
Since launching in March 2022, Atlas now collects hundreds of incident reports per month, boasts over 25,000 users, and is available across all of Kenya’s major cities.
“Our vision is to provide every Kenyan with the ability to stay safe, regardless of where they live,”
“We combat the lack of accessibility to public safety resources with technology, and while our platform is invitation-only for security reasons, we hope for all Kenyans to join our community one day.” said Wechuli.
Atlas is already making a significant impact in the market.
According to security professionals, several violent crimes, including one murder, were interrupted on the basis of the app’s alerts, and the perpetrators are now serving long prison sentences.
Community leaders claim that the app has alerted them to home robberies in progress; individuals using ATMs were notified of nearby bank heists; election observers leverage the software to prepare for the upcoming vote in August; and homebuyers use the crime data to select areas in which to live.
In the words of one community safety leader, “This is a terrific product which immensely helps one to keep safe”.
Atlas is quickly building to become the go-to service for safety in Kenya.