Dartmouth Police Cruiser
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Dartmouth Police Launch App for Reporting Crime, Safety Alerts

A new alert system to to help enhance public safety communications in town is being launched by the Dartmouth Police Department, Chief Brian Levesque announced Monday.

Tip411 is an interactive way to keep the community connected and informed through email, text message and online public safety alerts. The new system for Dartmouth residents will also allow the public to report crimes and other suspicious activity directly to police by sending anonymous text messages or submitting tips online or through the Dartmouth Police Department app.

“This new system enables members of the public to communicate directly with the department through anonymous tips. It also allows us to send alerts directly to your cell phone or email address,” Chief Levesque said. “We encourage all of our residents to sign up. But I would also like to note that this is not a substitute for calling 911 during an emergency and the tip system is not monitored 24/7.”

Residents can register to receive alerts from Dartmouth Police via email and/or text message by signing up online or downloading the Dartmouth PD app. Developed by tip411, the Dartmouth PD app enables the public to share anonymous tips with police and lets officers respond. Residents can download the app for free for iPhones and Androids.

The public can also share information on crimes or other suspicious activity by sending a text message to 847411 (tip411) and in the body of the text type DartmouthPD and the message they would like to send. Those who prefer a web-based option can share information with police by using the tip411 web form on the Dartmouth Police website.

Dartmouth Police would like to remind the community that this new system should never be used in the event of an emergency, and that residents should always dial 911 if they need immediate assistance.

McFarland Police Department Send Anonymous Tips
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McFarland Police roll out tip411 program

Local residents who want to supply a tip to the McFarland Police Department have another option for doing so as the TIP411 system launched June 3.

McFarland Police Chief Craig Sherven said the program provides another avenue for people to provide information. During the last few years, the department has seen people moving away from traditional means of providing law enforcement with tips, such as phone calls, and preferring to use social media including Facebook.

“The problem with that is that we aren’t always monitoring Facebook, and sometimes miss out on this type of information. TIP411 alerts staff anytime new information is posted,” Sherven said.

The program is meant to be used as a quick, real time way of anonymously offering tip information to the police that does not need to have an immediate response from an officer, the chief said.

There are three ways for people to submit information to TIP411 – text message, a link on the McFarland Police Department’s website, and a smartphone app developed specifically for the local police. Sherven said police staff are alerted to the tip through a variety of ways.

To text a tip to the department using text, send the keyword MCFPD and the information to 847477. The app can be downloaded onto an Android or iPhone by searching McFarland PD in the app store. The direct link is www.tip411.com/tips/new?alert_group_id=21964.

Sherven stressed the system is not a means to report an incident in progress and needing immediate assistance or filing a police report.

The police chief said while TIP411 is intended for people to provide anonymous information to local law enforcement, people who have downloaded the app are also able to receive information pushed out from the McFarland Police Department.

More information on the program can be found online at www.mcfarland.wi.us/police.

“My hope is that the addition of this service will promote good communications and information sharing between us and the public,” Sherven said. “Like any other kind of service industry, we need to adapt to technology in order to effectively serve the public.”

Read the story from HNGNews.com

Mandan Police Anonymous Tip App
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New Mandan Police app allows sending anonymous tips to officers

A way to interact with the Mandan Police Department on a mobile phone? There’s an app for that.

The free “Mandan PD” app has been posted to the Apple iTunes App Store and the Google Play Store and the Mandan Police Department website.

It’s nothing fancy, just a basic, no-frills way to submit anonymous tips to the Mandan police, view the police section of the Mandan city website, view any alerts posted by the police and call the police non-emergency number.

By incorporating a unique anonymous contact system known as “tip411,” the app lets officers respond back to anonymous tips sent through the app, creating an anonymous two-way conversation, if needed.

The Mandan PD app and tip411 are 100 percent anonymous, as the technology removes all identifying information before police see the tips — there is no way to identify the sender.

Residents in Mandan without a smartphone can still share information with police by sending an anonymous text tip via their cell phone to police by texting keyword MANDANPD and then their message/tip to 847411 (tip411).

Anonymous web tips can also be submitted through the department’s website at www.MandanPD.com.

Read the full story on KXNET.com

BJA - Bureau of Justice Assistance U.S Department of Justice
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tip411 is a Qualified Program for DOJ-BJA Grant Funds

Through its Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the U.S. Department of Justice is releasing over $34M in grant funds for state and local jurisdictions to prevent and reduce school violence through use of technology. tip411 is a qualified program to provide through the use of these grant funds.

As you may know, BJA is the primary provider of criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions.

The BJA STOP School Violence grant clearly outlines use of this kind of technology, tip411, as a priority.  In fact, BJA plans to make up to 17 awards of up to $250,000 each under its Category 7: Technology and Reporting.  The main objective under this category is “to implement a technological solution, such as an anonymous reporting technology, that can be implemented as a mobile phone-based app, a hotline, or a website in the applicant’s geographic area designed to enable students, teachers, faculty, and community members to anonymously identify threats of school violence…  The proposed technology solution should be used to help prevent incidents before they occur.”

tip411 is a cost-effective web based toolset that allows law enforcement to communicate with, and get tips from, the community across a variety of channels including custom branded apps, 2-way anonymous text messages, community alerts via email, text and social media.

Applications are due June 11, 2019.  To reiterate, tip411 is a qualified program to provide through these grant funds and we have staff on hand to help assist you in preparing your application to include our technology as part of your overall strategy.

Have questions? Contact us today!