Since switching to the tip411 anonymous tip tool, Peoria IL, public schools have seen a positive increase in citizens reaching out to provide information on possible issues and criminal activity compared to previous tipping options.
The tool can be used in multiple ways including reporting bullying, potential fights, incidents outside school, parents’ concerns, and complaints.
Following the implementation of tip411 in 2022, Peoria public schools have received over 150 tips to date.
According to School Safety Director Demario Boone, his staff can get reports and respond to anonymous texts to get more information with the tip411 tool, something they couldn’t do before.
At the most recent school board meeting, Boone indicated that within the past month, 24 tips were received through the tip411 tool, including about a teacher, and concerns over a firearm posted on social media.
“I was out on a Saturday with my kids, got a tip, sent it to Peoria Police, and we were able to get in the house, search the house, get the BB gun out of the house because it wasn’t a real one. Within 20 minutes we were able to solve all of that thanks to tip411,” Boone said.
Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria said the Peoria Police Department has seen a 41% reduction over the year in all incident reports from the schools.
“Most of disorderly conducts also include these threats that we’re seeing nationally and locally; we’re still down 3% compared to last year,” Echevarria said.
The public can submit anonymous tips to Peoria Public Schools by texting “PEORIAPS” and the tip information to 847411. The public can also use the PEORIAPs Tip mobile app, powered by tip411, to view community alerts and submit anonymous tips. The PEORIAPS Tip app can be downloaded for free at the iTunes and Google Play App Store.
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