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Ohio residents can now report suspicious activity through Safeguard Ohio, a new AI-powered chatbot app designed to make crime reporting easier, faster, and more accessible.

The app, developed by software company Vigiliti for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, allows users to anonymously submit photos, videos, and audio clips across eight categories, including drug activity, human trafficking, terrorism, school threats, and crimes against children.

“Because AI is involved, it asks the follow-up questions,” said Andy Wilson, director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. “It asks basically everything that needs to be gathered … to understand what’s going on and get it to the right folks.”

Ohio Homeland Security Director Mark Porter said the new tool has already tripled the number of tips received, compared to the 30 reports per month that came in before the app launched on August 6. He attributed the surge to the app’s multilingual support and its appeal to younger users.

The system cost about $200,000 to develop, with an additional two-year maintenance contract worth $250,000 annually. Despite its reach, officials stressed it is not a replacement for emergency services. “This isn’t a substitute for 911,” Wilson said. “What this is, is to catch more of the suspicious activity, not the imminent ‘Hey, something is going down.’”