In The News – Page 42

December 5, 2019December 5, 2019 drivi86 In The News

Port Wentworth police release anonymous tip smartphone app

Port Wentworth Police Department is increasing its crime-fighting arsenal with a new app to help residents connect with the department to find information, view alerts, and submit anonymous tips from their smartphone.

Developed by tip411, the Port Wentworth PD app puts a powerful new crime-fighting tool into the hands of community members of all ages. The Port Wentworth PD app is available for download for free via the Google Play Store, iTunes App Store, or by visiting the Port Wentworth Police Department website at www.cityofportwentworth.com.

“The City of Port Wentworth Police Department is committed to working closely with all segments of the general public and government to preserve peace and provide a safe environment for the people who live and work in our community,” said Captain James Hollingsworth. “I believe our new Port Wentworth PD app will help to ensure we deliver the high quality of law enforcement our community deserves.”

The new Port Wentworth PD app enables the public to share an anonymous tip with police and lets officers respond back — an anonymous two-way conversation.

“We’ve listened to feedback from partners like Port Wentworth Police and have built a more advanced and innovative product to help departments better engage their communities,” said tip411 President Terry Halsch. “The Port Wentworth PD app powered by tip411will greatly improve the public’s access to agency alerts, social media channels, important information, and more to help fight crime.”

The Port Wentworth PD app and tip411 anonymous text a tip system are 100% anonymous, as the technology removes all identifying information before police see the tips and there is no way to identify the sender.

Residents in Port Wentworth without a smartphone can share information with police by sending an anonymous text tip via their cell phone to police by texting keyword PWPD and their message/tip to 847411 (tip411). Anonymous web tips can also be submitted through the department’s website at www.cityofportwentworth.com

On November 29, 2019, The Port Wentworth Police received an anonymous tip which resulted into five (5) juvenile arrest for breaking into a house in the Rice Creek Subdivision. We have received several other neighborhood traffic complaints in which officers were dispatched to.

Read the full story from SavannahNow.com

December 2, 2019November 29, 2019 drivi86 In The News

LISTEN: Johnstown Police Chief Talks New Tip Line – tip411

Johnstown Police Chief Robert Johnson talks to his local radio station about tip411.

tip411 is a new program, a text system to report drug and suspicious activity in your area.

Chief Johnson talks how to get the app and how to text a tip.

The program has already been a success; people are already using it to help their community.

Check out their interview with Johnstown Police Chief Robert Johnson at ForeverJohnstown.com

November 22, 2019November 21, 2019 drivi86 In The News

New app helping Kentucky conservation officers fight crimes

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is using a new tool to fight crimes.

Nearly two weeks ago the department launched a new smartphone app where people can submit tips anonymously.

“Up to this point we’ve received about 100 tips and about 1,000 downloads of the app,” said Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Chief Communications Officer Kevin Kelly.

When you open the app and select the “new tip” option, you can then write in a subject line, description and fill in the location. You can even take a photo or video to send in showing conservation officers what you’re seeing.

“We’ve received complaints about trespassing, we’ve also received tips about hunters taking more than one buck, so we have a one buck rule here in Kentucky. And then also harvesting deer from roadways which is not allowed,” said Kelly.

Modern gun deer hunting season just began in Kentucky, and officials also want to remind people that it’s illegal to bring deer or elk carcasses across state lines. The reason behind that rule is to prevent the spread of disease.

If you see someone driving carcasses into Kentucky from out-of-state, you can report that through the app too.

LEX 18 talked with a local hunter who said it sometimes can be hard to get in touch with a conservation officer or game warden, and he thinks this is a big step in the right direction.

“Say if someone’s doing something wrong you could just be like ‘hey you might want to come check this out.’ I just think it’d be a great idea,” said Colby Brown from Rockcastle County.

The KFWLaw app is available for download in the iTunes App Store or Google Play Store.

The app is free, and once you have it open, select “new tip” on the app home screen to send in information.

Read the full story from LEX18.com

November 18, 2019November 18, 2019 drivi86 In The News

17-year-old El Capitan High student arrested for making school shooting threat, Merced Police say

Classes went on as scheduled at El Capitan High School on Friday, but news of a school shooting threat had a noticeable impact on the campus.

Officials say 250 students were absent or went home, compared to about 50 or 60 on a typical Friday. Despite the fact, officers arrested the suspect hours before school began.

“We did receive the all-clear this morning for classes to resume as normal,” said Sam Yniguez.

Officials say they first heard of the threat around 11 p.m. Thursday, when a student sent a message through the Merced Union High School District’s Tip411 system.

“It’s an anonymous hotline that lets students or staff report any safety concerns they see or hear about,” Yniguez said. “So once we became aware, the district started working with the Merced Police Department on the investigation.”

Police also received a call from that student’s mother and immediately began following leads. By 5:30 a.m., they had arrested the 17-year-old El Capitan student and taken two guns from his home.

“This individual we have in custody has been in contact with law enforcement before, so we’re looking into what his background is,” said Lt. Jay Struble. “Our detectives are still looking into this case, getting information off his social media accounts, his electronic devices, phones, computers all that to come up with a possible motive.”

This case comes after a Golden Valley High freshman was arrested last April for making a false active shooter report over a school radio, prompting a massive law enforcement response.

Police say they have to take every threat seriously, and they hope students will do the same.

“You never know which one could be the one to create an unfortunate situation just like yesterday in Santa Clarita,” Lt. Struble said.

The suspect, in this case, is being held in juvenile hall for making criminal threats, but police say the district attorney’s office could choose to charge him as an adult.

The possible punishment ranges from fines and probation to prison time depending on what prosecutors and the court system decide.

Read the full story from ABC30.com

November 18, 2019January 6, 2020 drivi86 In The News

City police add alert system app to better communicate with public

Tips to and from Johnstown Police Department are now just a click away.

Through a program developed by Minnesota-based CitizenObserver, Johnstown police are launching Tip411 – an interactive alert system “app” that enables both the police and public to alert one another about important public safety issues, police Captain Chad Miller said.

Options such as Push Out the Pusher and the department’s Facebook page have been valuable for tips, Miller said, but people are more comfortable sending a text or photo than leaving a telephone message or identifying themselves on social media.

Because Tip411’s program software doesn’t collect IP addresses, phone numbers or any other identifiers, police only receive messages – unless a tipster decides to offer that information, the company’s creators said.

“We believe an informed community is a safer community,” Miller said.

Johnstown Police serve the city, Dale Borough, Middle Taylor and West Taylor townships. Through the downloadable “app” – or an anonymous text to “tip411” (847-411) – residents can quickly and anonymously send officers tips on unsolved crimes or report drug deals and other suspicious activity in their neighborhoods.

Johnstown Police, meanwhile, can respond to those messages – and post their own “alerts” about incidents such as missing person cases.

It’s a system that’s found crime-solving success in communities such as Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Works elsewhere

Atlantic City Police Department launched the alert system in 2013, Atlantic City Police Sgt. Kevin Fair said.

Back then, the New Jersey department was dealing with a common trend, striving to solve a surging number of street crimes while tips from the public through 911 seemed to be dwindling, police said at the time.

By turning to a third party vendor to manage the system, an environment was developed through Tip411 “for those who want to report a crime to be able to do it without being identified,” Fair told The Tribune-Democrat on Wednesday.

Atlantic City police received 226 tips the first year the alert system was active, he added.

By 2018, the tips had grown to 4,213, Fair said.

“We’ve had people send us messages, pictures and video that have been valuable to our investigations,” he said. “And because of the way the message is collected and delivered (to the department), we don’t know who sent it,” he said.

Signing up

Cincinnati Police Department used its app to notify the public about a missing 60-year-old man with dementia on Monday. A few days earlier, police reached out to the public to help them identify suspects in a city robbery.