Detective Sergeant Commons of the Elizabethton, TN Police Department (34 sworn officers), used the tip411 tool to issue a tip411 Suspect Identification Alert with photos of two suspected of shoplifting to the outstanding community that was also shared locally by several media outlets and social media.
The addition of photographs in the alert led to numerous tips, and Sergeant Commons was quickly able to identify both suspects who had traveled to Elizabethton from a distant jurisdiction. The male suspect contacted Elizabethton PD and asked, “why his picture was all over the place”. Sergeant Commons said “that without tip411, we would have never identified these suspects.”
The Elizabethton PD has been using tip411 since 2018 and their app developed by tip411, puts a powerful new crime-fighting tool into the hands of residents and business owners. Community members are able to find information, receive alerts, and send anonymous tips to us from any smartphone. The tips can include photos as well as video files. Officers viewing the tip can reply back to create an anonymous two-way conversation.
The public can submit anonymous tips to the Elizabethton PD by texting “TIPEPD” and the tip information to 847411. The public can also use the TIPEPD Tip mobile app, powered by tip411, to view community alerts and submit anonymous tips. The TIPEPD Tip app can be downloaded for free at the iTunes and Google Play App Store.
See the alert here.