El Paso County sheriff’s investigators arrested two men on drug charges Tuesday in Central El Paso following an anonymous tip, officials said.
Jovan Ramos and Roberto Daniel Saavedra were arrested on drug possession charges during a traffic stop at Arizona Avenue and Noble Street, sheriff’s officials said.
During a search of a vehicle, investigators found a pound of hydroponic marijuana, 21 grams of cocaine and a gram of the prescription drug Adderall, officials said.
A recently debuted crime map allows Canton residents to see when and where robberies, burglaries and other crimes have occurred.
The map, a service provided at no additional cost as part of the Canton Police Department’s Tip411 subscription, is accessible at cantonohio.gov/police or communitycrimemap.com. Searches can be refined by address, date range and offense.
“One of our mantras has been ‘an informed community is a safer community.’” said Canton police Lt. John Gabbard. “We want people to know and be aware of what’s happening in your community.”
The option to create a map isn’t new, he said. It’s offered nationwide through Tip411, which allows people to send anonymous tips and receive police alerts, in partnership with data company LexisNexis.
As the department increasingly has used data to inform policing the past five years, record-keeping has reached the point where a map is feasible. Gabbard estimated police reports uploaded to the system are matched to the right location 97 percent of the time.
“As we improve how we can read our information and store it, then it makes a lot of things possible, and this is just one of those things,” Gabbard said.
Blaine, Minnesota Police sent an alert out via their tip411 system to residents asking for help identifying a person of interest in a prescription medication forgery case.
After receiving multiple tips, Blaine Police were able to identify the person of interest with the help of residents who submitted information anonymously to the department.
Police sent a follow up alert to residents thanking them for tips and letting them know they helped in the identification.
With the start of the 2017 school year, the Point Park Police Department in Pennsylvania is implementing an anonymous tip app to create a safer campus environment.
“I wanted to add another feature for faculty, staff and especially students,” Chief of Police Jeffrey Besong said. “I think it helps the students who don’t feel comfortable calling the police or getting involved.”
The “Point Park PD” app is designed to involve community in the crime solving process of the campus department. The app gives students the option to remain completely anonymous while filling out a tip. Students are given the option to include their name with the submitted tip.
“We are using the app in real time with our 24-hour dispatch, Besong said. Anytime a student submits a tip it goes to our dispatch, my cell phone, email and to other department supervisors.”
The app is developed by tip411, a system used across the country to include citizens in the law enforcement process. Point Park is the first Pittsburgh school to use the system as well as to launch a tip based security app.
“The tip411 system has been successful in communities across the U.S.,” Terry Halsch, president of tip411 in a press release from the department, said. “We are excited to partner with Point Park as one of the first universities to use the new school edition of our innovative tip411 app to directly connect and engage students, faculty and staff.”
See the full story in the Point Park Globe
Read more about the app on the Point Park University website
City police say they’ve arrested a city man in connection with a series of Neo-Nazi inspired hate graffiti incidents in the city and in neighboring Valley.
George F. Rissell, 24, was taken into custody after police received an anonymous tip via a smart phone app, combined with images from various surveillance cameras near where the incidents took place. With that information, police were able to zero in on the suspect’s vehicle and his identity.
The accused was arrested and charged with multiple counts of ethnic intimidation and criminal mischief, and arraigned before Magistrate Gill at 2140 hours. The accused was remanded to Chester County Prison in lieu of $150,000.00 cash bail.
Police said that Rissell has claimed past association with with supremacy and hate groups.
Various locations — including a car — were vandalized with hate messages and various White Supremacist/Neo-Nazi codes late Tuesday night, bringing widespread condemnation.
