Rocky Boy Police Department
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Rocky Boy police implement anonymous tip smartphone app

Rocky Boy Police Department announced this week that, with the help of tip411, it launched an application to allow people to make anonymous tips to law enforcement.

Rocky Boy Police referred the Havre Daily News to its press release and to tip411’s website at https://home.tip411.com for information.

The press release said the app will help Rocky Boy residents and law enforcement officers obtain information.

“The Rocky Boy 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,” the release said.

The app was launched Saturday and is aimed to help better connect law enforcement with the public, it said, adding that the app is a powerful crime-fighting tool and is available for all ages. The app is available for free on the Google Play Store, iTunes App Store or by visiting the Rocky Boy Police Department Website at http://www.chippewacree-nsn.gov .

The app removes all identifying information before sending anything to law enforcement, ensuring all information shared is 100 percent anonymous, it added. It also allows the public to share anonymous tips with Rocky Boy Police Department, as well as allowing officers to respond back, creating an anonymous two-way conversation, the release said.

“Our mission is to promote safety and enhance the quality of life for all our residents,” it said. “We believe our new anonymous tip system will aid us in those goals.”

tip411 is a company which helps different agencies effectively engage with the public, its website says. The app is also an easily implemented community notification systems which includes crime alerts as a cost-effective, web-based solution. 

The website added that the system also allows law enforcement to send crime and community alerts to public groups, neighborhood watches, businesses or school campuses. It said the system is aimed to give people an ability to come forward with what they are seeing in their communities without fear of retaliation.

In the press release from Rocky Boy Police Department, tip411 President Terry Halsch said the app will also give people critical access to information and alerts to help fight crime in the area.

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

The release added that residents in Rocky Boy without a smartphone can also share information with law enforcement by sending anonymous text tips using their cellphones by texting RBPD and their message to 847411 (tip411).  Anonymous web tips can also be submitted through the department’s website at http://www.chippewacree-nsn.gov .

The app also has the number for Rocky Boy Police Department, a webpage link and a Facebook link. People who are trying to make a tip to law enforcement will have to include a subject for the tip, along with the location and description of what they are reporting. They can also attach a video or photo to the message.

Read the full story from Havre Daily News.

Tip411 Let's Work Together
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Fridley police tip app brings uptick in ‘quality of life’ reports

Fridley police have seen an increase in “quality of life” reports since implementing a tip app for smartphones about a year ago, according to Fridley police Capt. Ryan George.

The free app, Tip411, allows people to submit tips to the Police Department completely anonymously. Tip411 was funded in partnership with Fridley Public Schools.

The quality of life tips may be notifying the police of a noisy neighbor or parking problems.

“It seems to be things that are close to the tipsters’ house, so I can see why somebody wouldn’t want to call 911 on their neighbors and give a name and address and all that stuff,” George said. “So we’ve really seen an uptick in those tips lately.”

For those fearing repercussions from calling the police Tip411 can provide peace of mind, according to George.

“They don’t have to live in fear that their neighbor’s going to find out they called 911,” George said. “It’s 100% anonymous. We can’t figure out who the tipster is, even if we try to subpoena the company or get a search warrant for the records. They don’t have it.”

The only people seeing the tip through the app are Fridley Police staff, he said. Staff can engage in dialogue with tipsters to get more details if necessary.

Tip411 has been useful during times when police ask for the public’s help identifying someone or with anything related to a crime, George said. Users can send police any information they have through the app.

The anonymous app is useful for Fridley students as well, George said. If students hear a classmate threatening to hurt themselves or other people, they could anonymously report those threats to the police through the app.

Fridley Public Schools initially wanted to collaborate with the Police Department a few years ago, Fridley Public Schools director of communications and community relations Jael McLemore said.

“Tragic events can be prevented if they are reported to law enforcement ahead of time, and resources such as (Tip411) provide an additional layer to regular reporting channels, such as 911, that community members can use,” McLemore said.

In addition to the Tip411 app, she said, students have access to counselors and other school staff members if anything needs to be reported to keep schools safe.

“We really don’t want to miss an opportunity to partner if that helps enhance safety, if that helps increase security for our staff, our students and our buildings,” McLemore said.

Police are able to push notifications out to people’s phones as well. If there’s a street blocked off or an accident to report, police can tell the community through the app, so users are in the know if there are any major incidents.

Fridley residents can download the app through their phones’ app stores by searching Fridley PD Tip411.

Read the full story from HometownSource.com

Waxahachie ISD
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Waxahachie ISD launches anonymous crime reporting app

Students of the Waxahachie Independent School District can now anonymously report suspicious activities using their cellphones.

tip411 allows students, staff, parents and the wider community to ” to share important safety information anonymously with district and campus administrators by sending them secure messages with information about bullying, drug use, and suspicious or potentially criminal activity via a free smartphone app,” according to a Friday press release.

“When a tip comes in, it will go to the campus administrator, our district head of security, our superintendent and the executive director of secondary or elementary learning, depending on if the tip is for an elementary or secondary campus,” District Spokesperson Jenny Bridges said.

The Waxahachie ISD says the free mobile app allows students and staff to play a role in keeping their schools safe without fear of retribution.

“Waxahachie ISD students excel in every area, from academics to fine arts to athletics and more,” said Dr. Bonny Cain, Waxahachie ISD Superintendent. “But our students can’t achieve if they don’t feel safe, and we believe the tip411 anonymous reporting system will add another level of safety and security to our campuses.”

The launch comes on the heels of an incident at Midlothian High School on Sept. 6 where the school went into lockdown after two students reported to staff what the District called “a possible threat.” The lockdown lasted several hours while police, dressed in combat gear and carrying heavy machinery, combed the building.

“We always encourage our students if they see or hear something to say something,” said Midlothian Independent School District Superintendent Lane Ledbetter in a statement posted on Facebook hours after the lockdown was lifted. “These two students did just that – reported what they thought they saw and heard.”

School

Keyword

Waxahachie High School

WAXHS

Waxahachie Global High School

WAXGLOHS

Coleman Jr. High

COLJH

Finley Jr. High

FINJH

Howard Jr. High

HOWJH

Waxahachie Elementary Campuses

WAXELE

Those without the app can still text anonymously by sending a message to 847411, beginning with a keyword linked to the school they are reporting about.

“After a long and thorough investigation, the Midlothian Police Department deemed the threat was unsubstantiated,” Ledbetter added.

tip411 is already being used by schools, police departments and community groups across the country. Critics of the app, however, say the system might become overwhelmed with frivolous tips that will take away the attention of investigators from serious incidents.

“The tip411 system has been successful in communities across the U.S.,” said Terry Halsch, president of tip411, in the release. “We are excited to work with Waxahachie ISD to bring our innovative app and text a tip system to connect and engage students directly to participate in promoting safety in their halls.”

Those without the app can still text anonymously by sending a message to 847411, beginning with a keyword linked to the school they are reporting about.

Read the full story from WaxahachieTX.com

Chief John Swenson
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Lino Lakes Police Now Using tip411 to Communicate with Residents

Tony Stano wanted for some time to bring the product he’s helped sell to communities around the country to the city where he lives.

“It’s kind of a passion project for me,” said Stano, who lives in Lino Lakes and is sales director for Tip411, a Twin Cities-based company that has operated a law enforcement communication platform for nearly 20 years.

“I know how important it is to every community we work with because it’s a complete community engagement tool that works to provide a safe space for residents to get involved in government where they might not otherwise feel inclined to say anything about what’s happening in their neighborhoods,” Stano said.

Lino Lakes Public Safety Department is the latest agency to sign on, and the system is now live.

“This is a platform for us to have really on-going engagement with our community,” said Public Safety Director John Swenson. “(Residents) can also provide information to us anonymously through text messaging, through the app, or through the website.”

It works seamlessly with the department’s existing social media platforms, including Facebook, which has continued to prove popular with people who live and work in Lino Lakes.

Tip411 also divides the city into four zones to streamline communication and make each zone specific to where users are most interested in knowing what’s going on.

“Simply by clicking a couple of boxes, we’re able to send that information across all of our social media platforms at one time, which is a real advantage for us,” said Swenson. “Public safety really is a partnership. We cannot possibly keep track of everything that’s going on in our community.”

“It doesn’t matter the size of the agency or community,” said Stano. “If you can send a text, download an app, or manage the internet in any capacity, you can utilize Tip411 to participate in neighborhood safety.”

Lino Lakes Tip411 Anonymous Tips
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Lino Lakes Police debut new app on Night to Unite

Residents now have another way to stay informed about what is going on in their community and share information with law enforcement while remaining anonymous.

Just in time for Night to Unite Aug. 6, the Lino Lakes Public Safety Department (LLPSD) announced it had partnered with Tip411 so residents can have a multitude of channels to communicate with law enforcement — all anonymously.

“For the residents, it is just one more opportunity for them to partner with us and provide us information,” Public Safety Director John Swenson said. “For us, it is providing another opportunity to get information that can help us further make our community safe and it allows us to do some targeted communications and continue to work to find efficiencies for social media use.”

Tip411 is a St. Paul company that has been around since 2000. The company works with law enforcement, schools and community groups to implement community notification systems including crime alerts, anonymous text tips, smartphone apps and social media pushes. Tip411 currently works with 1,800 communities across 47 states. Some of its largest customers include the U.S. Air Force and the cities of San Francisco, San Antonio, Minneapolis and Duluth.

Lino Lakes resident Tony Stano, who has been a sales director with Tip411for almost six years, said over the past several years he has periodically checked in with city officials to see if there was interest in joining the Tip411 platform. “Because it was my hometown, I was particularly passionate about seeing it through to fruition or to have the door shut,” Stano explained. The department and the company started planning for the launch a year ago.

Swenson said although the technology is something his department had been interested in for a long time, because of the department’s size there were only so many resources it could manage.

“The thing that really tipped it for us and why we decided to go with it, was the ability to create targeted zones of our city so we could do communications direct to areas,” Swenson explained. “For example, if we had something going on in northwest corner of our city related to theft from vehicles, we could send it out to that area of the city, versus broadcasting it throughout. We can be specific about our messaging geographically, which we have not had an ability to do prior to this application.”

Through Tip411, the LLPSD can send out alerts through its custom branded mobile app (available for iPhone and Android), email, text and social media. Residents are also able to send anonymous tips via all those channels. Through the app and on the website, residents can also submit tips about specific pins/incidents on the community crime map.

“One of the main benefits of Tip411 is that any tip that is sent in starts at two-way conversation with law enforcement and the tipster remains anonymous 100% of the time. For every tip that LLPSD receives, they will have the opportunity to respond to the tip or ask questions to develop information before ever having to deploy a physical resource if necessary,” Stano said. “So instead of an officer chasing down a two-sentence tip that they really don’t know about, they can save time and communicate over our service. For the public, it is a safe space to get involved without the fear of retribution or retaliation.”

The mobile app also enables residents to attach videos and or pictures to their tips. “If LLPSD pushes out an alert that they are looking for a suspect in a red car, you could be sitting at Applebees eating your rib tips and see that car in the parking lot. Right from your mobile device in real time, you can submit a tip about that alert,” Stano said.

As always, residents should call 911 in an emergency. “It is very important that everybody understands this is a mechanism for people to communicate with us about a non-emergency event, or a not-in-progress event,” Swenson urged. “If you need to see a police officer, or you see something suspicious in your neighborhood and you want a police response, that has to go through our dispatch center because these platforms are not monitored on an ongoing basis.”

By downloading the app, you opt in to getting alerts through the app. If you want alerts via email or text, you have to sign up online on the city’s website. (Go to the public safety tab, click police division, programs & initiatives and then Tip411.) Residents are encouraged to sign up for the particular zone they live in, although they are also able to receive all alerts across the city if they so choose. For questions, contact LLPSD at 651-982-2323.

Read the full story from Quad Community Press