Clark County’s Android mobile app allows users to report graffiti, other violations

Android users can now join in helping clean up Clark County with a free, easy-to-use smartphone application called myDistrictD.

The app allows users to report code violations, including graffiti, using the phone's GPS and photo capabilities to send complaints to the county office. Despite the name, the application can be used countywide.

About 1,000 people have downloaded myDistrictD since County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, of District D, launched the app for the iPhone last year. His office receives about 10 complaints per week through the app, he said. The Android expansion is expected to double the app's use.

"Each year technology grows. Hopefully one day it will get on a basic regular phone like the one I carry," Weekly said about the possibility of expansion to other mobile devices.

For now, the application is limited to iPhone and Android users. Find the app in the phone's App Store or Marketplace.

Users can then categorize the issue: graffiti, illegal dumping, green pool or vacant property. Both text- and audio-based notes can accompany the report, along with a photo. The phone's GPS automatically detects the location.

Those reporting violations will remain confidential, Weekly said. Users can leave a phone number, however, to receive a confirmation that the report has been filed. The reports are added to the list of other code violations that the county follows up on, and Weekly ensures the response time is "pretty good."

For reports of graffiti, the pictures are sent to the Metropolitan Police Department, which has a database used to compare markings and develop leads to vandals.

"This app is just wonderful because it gives citizens an opportunity to communicate directly with their government," Weekly said. "They're our eyes and ears in our community."

The idea for myDistrictD came from a similar app, American Graffiti, developed almost two years ago.

"We had so many pens and computers and cameras, so we came up with the idea of using the iPhone," said Mike Kightlinger of American Graffiti, the company that removes graffiti for the county. "It's eliminated the need for paperwork in our trucks and makes us faster and more efficient."

He said the myDistrictD application extends those benefits to all Clark County residents.

Contact Jessica Fryman at jfryman@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0264.