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New app encourages people to anonymously report crime

For Hamden Police, it is another step in helping to bridge the gap between police officers and the communities they protect. A new smartphone app called tip411 lets smartphone users submit crime tips anonymously.

“Often I’ll be in meetings and hear people say like I did yesterday, well, I didn’t want to bother the police. I heard from somebody else well, I want to be anonymous and I didn’t want to get involved so to speak,” said Hamden Chief of Police Thomas Wydra.

 Wydra said the goal of the department is to connect with everyone in the town but realizes certain groups of people are hesitant to engage. Officers believe the app will encourage people to alert them of suspicious activity.

“We wanna reach people who ordinarily might not be willing to engage with us for a variety of reasons. That includes kids, people whose immigration status may be in jeopardy or some other process they don’t want to engage the local police. This is another way for them to reach us,” said Wydra.

Read the full story and see the video from News 8 – WTNH.

LaSalle-Peru anonymous tips
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LaSalle-Peru school safety measure introduces anonymous tips

LaSalle-Peru Township High School (LPHS) has launched an anonymous tip system for the new school year that will allow the community to report situations via text message or through an app, according to a release from the school.

The school has employed tip411, a tool created by Citizen Observer, which will facilitate anonymous two-way conversations. Those wishing to use the system can download the LP tip411 app, available for both iPhone and Android, in order to submit messages, photos and videos. The system is also accessible through text message. Users can direct their tip to 847411, starting the message with “CAVALIERS.”

According to LPHS, the tips are completely anonymous; all information that could identify a user is stripped before the message is sent to authorities. Tips sent through tip411 are sent and received in real time. The system is already in place in more than 1,200 communities throughout the country.

The school noted that it has implemented the tip system in a bid to keep students, staff and visitors as safe as possible, and that it believes tip411 will better enable communication and the speed with which the school can address situations.

See the full story in the Illinois Valley Times

new tip411 app Hamden Police
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New ‘tip411’ app to let the public help Hamden police anonymously

A new smartphone app will let town residents be part of the police force, allowing allow anyone who downloads it to send anonymous tips and get alerts about crime in the community.

The Legislative Council this week approved funds for the police department to purchase the app.

“We know people are scared or intimidated,” Police Chief Thomas Wydra said. “This is the perfect tool to overcome that fear. It’s a way to encourage people to engage with us.”

The app, called tip411, lets a user submit crime tips anonymously, which alleviates a fear some have of getting involved with police. A user also can include photos or video.

Another feature allows the department to send out alerts to the community about crimes in the area. The alerts can be categorized by type of crime and can be directed at particular communities and neighborhoods. Through the app, a person with information can also add a tip to a specific alert.

“We want to connect with everybody, but certain groups are timid,” Wydra said. He said he is thinking specifically about schoolchildren and people with questionable immigration status who may have a heightened fear of interacting with police. “The app reaches them,” he said.

Read the full story in the New Haven Register

tip411 app for anonymous messages
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Barrera announces new ‘tip411’ smartphone app for anonymous messages to sheriff’s office

The Highland County Sheriff’s Office now allows the public to share important public safety information anonymously with law enforcement by sending them a secure text message about crimes or suspicious activity in Highland County via a free smartphone app.

The Highland County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that it is launching “tip411,” an internet-based tool from Citizen Observer that enables the public to text message an anonymous tip to law enforcement and lets the officers respond back, creating an anonymous two-way conversation. The app can be downloaded for free via the Google Play store and iTunes App Store. Enter Highland County Sheriff in the search bar.

In addition, anyone with a cell phone may send an anonymous tip to the Highland County Sheriff’s office by texting HCSHERIFF and their message/tip to 847411 (tip411). Anonymous web tips can be submitted right from the sheriff’s office website at www.highlandcoso.com.

The Text Tips App and tip411 anonymous text-a-tip system are 100 percent anonymous, as the technology removes all identifying information before law enforcement officers see the tips and there is no way to identify the sender.

“We believe the public is our greatest law enforcement resource,” said sheriff Donnie Barrera, adding that “tip411 allows a safe and secure way for community members to share important information with law enforcement without the fear of retribution.”

Read more from The Times-Gazette

Anonymous Tip
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Smartphone app helps fight crime in Crow Wing County

Smartphone apps have uses ranging from checking the weather to watching movies to reading about the latest breaking news, and everything in between. Now Crow Wing County residents can download an app that lets them send crime tips to the sheriff’s department and communicate with local law enforcement from anywhere while remaining anonymous.

Tip411 is a program that has been gaining popularity in the lakes area over the last eight months. After downloading the CWCS Mobile app on an iPhone or Android device, users can simply submit anonymous tips relating to any criminal or suspicious activity directly to the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office.

And that’s not all.

“The cool thing with this feature is people can still remain anonymous if they wish, but we’re allowed to communicate back with them. So that’s where we can add the additional questions,” said Capt. Scott Goddard, of the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office.

The app allows the investigator receiving the tips to respond to the tipster and ask follow-up questions.

“They’ll text us in something very vague, like, ‘Vehicles coming or going late at night from a residence,'” Goddard said. “And then our follow-up questions might be, ‘Well, can you give us descriptions of the vehicle?’ or ‘What times are the vehicles coming and going?'”

Read the full story from the Pineandlakes Echo Journal