The topic of police accountability has loomed especially large in nationwide social justice conversations since last summer’s protests spurred by the murder of George Floyd while in police custody. One of the aims of Off Duty Blue—a Raleigh-based SaaS startup currently participating in the RIoT Accelerator Program (RAP)—is to improve the accountability of police departments via a scheduling platform that keeps track of which officers are signed up for “off duty” work.
An officer’s shift is considered “off duty” whenever they are hired by a third party instead of the actual police department, i.e. by bus companies or by venues for special events like baseball games, said Off Duty Blue CEO Jim Raschella. Yet because the officers are still wearing their official uniform, their actions—for better or worse—still reflect on their department.
Read more about Off Duty Blue’s solution on GrepBeat.