Category: In The News

Three new phone applications are boosting the power of the Port Wentworth Police Department. Detectives say they are solving more crimes and keeping people safe with a better alert system.

One app is called “Tip411.” It allows police to send people quick and urgent alerts about suspects, kidnapping victims and more.

The app also has a tab for police to request information about certain crimes. Another feature gives people an opportunity to submit detailed tips, pictures, and videos about anything else.

Port Wentworth Detective Jeffrey McMurry says the app has helped solve cases like hit and runs, which are notoriously hard to solve. The detective says nearly every tip has led to an arrest or prosecution, or has furthered the investigation in some way.

“We’ve gotten more tips because of these apps. More people are willing to explain more of what’s going on,” said Det. McMurry.

Det. McMurry says people are also more willing to give more descriptive information on the apps, which makes their investigations run smoother and more quickly.

Police are also relying on the Nexdoor and Ring Neighbors apps for anonymous tips and information about what is happening around the city. Police get one or more helpful tips per week on one of the three applications.

In addition to phone applications, police are still using CrimeStoppers as a source for anonymous tips. If you would rather call a tip in, the line is always open. The number is 912-234-2020. Port Wentworth Police get at least one useful phone call per month.

Det. McMurry says police explained the Tip411 app to residents at a town hall on Monday. He says the feedback was all positive.

“They’re loving the fact that we’re getting out there and being more accessible to citizens within the city,” he said.

The Tip411 app, Ring Neighbors app and Nextdoor app are all available for free in the Google Play and Apple app stores.

To download the Tip411 app, search for ‘Port Wentworth PD’ in the search bar.

See the full story from WSAV3

The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office is using new technology to make it easier for the community to send in tips on crimes.

With the click of a button a tipster helped culminate weeks of investigation leading to the arrest of a man for selling methamphetamine. It’s a crime the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office would likely never know about if it weren’t for their tip411 program. It’s way to send a tip anonymously through a cell phone or computer.

“With tip411, it’s all done digitally,” Williamson County Sheriff’s Office investigator Paul Lusk said. “You can do it through the county website, our Facebook page, through text message.”

Anyone with a tip can text tip411 (847411) using the keyword ‘tipwcso’ before texting whatever tip the user wants to send. Tipsters can also use an app through iOS and Android, WilliamsonCo Sheriff.

“All of the information is filtered out as far as identifying information and we receive the tip almost instantaneously,” Lusk said. “There’s no way for us to subpoena or court order tip411 to give us the information of who sent the tip in.”

An investigator may respond back to the message looking for more information, but Lusk says they have no way of actually identifying who wrote to them.

They’ve received about 300 tips since the program began about two years ago. Lusk says roughly half of them have led to an arrest. Tipsters can still call Crime Stoppers or departments directly, but tip411 allows for complete anonymity.

“A lot of times people who send in tips are friends and family of the people that they’re tipping about or giving information about and they don’t want to be the black sheep of the family,” Lusk said. “They don’t want to have retaliation.”

Lusk says most tips have been drug related, but hopes more messages will lead to arrests on all sorts of crimes they may never know about without the community’s help.

“We have limited staff. We’re actually shorthanded right now. If we only have six or seven guys covering the entire county, they can patrol around and see what they see going through neighborhoods and try to proactively stop crime, but to us it’s more important for the neighbors, coworkers, just the community in general to be able to see stuff,” Lusk said. “They see it 24 hours a day. They live with it and there’s no way for us to know that some of that stuff is going on unless it’s reported and we feel like this is a safe way to do it.”

Anyone who is in an emergency should call 911. The Williamson County Emergency Management Agency is still working on a county wide program for texting 911 they hope to implement in summer 2020.

Lusk also reminded the community to save the tip411 for crimes because they investigate every tip that comes in seriously.

See the full story from NewsChannel5.com