The age of information is also an age of innovation; many opportunities exist for activists and change-makers to pursue their own ideas and strategies in advancing access to justice.

In Armenia, one group of journalists have taken this message to heart. Responding to an Innovation challenge on Human Rights, the group – part of an NGO called “Journalists for Human Rights” – came up with an idea to use new technologies to tackle police violence against civic activists during protests, marches and civic movements.

The team’s idea was to create an online mapping tool that works by crowdsourcing the reports of cases of police violence. With seed funding provided by Kolba Lab, JFHR NGO has launched the beta version of the “Report Police” web platform, which is also accessible for mobile users.

How does it work? If a member of the public wants to report a case of police violence they first need to register themselves on the platform. Once registered, the tool lets users upload video and photo materials, text description and the location of the report. After submission, the user is notified by e-mail, and the content is added to the platform within 24 hours, subject to an admin review.