tip411 In The News

Law Enforcement Agencies Launch Anonymous Web Tip Program

Getting witnesses to come forward can be as challenging as actually solving a crime.

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“If the police receive full cooperation from the general public, that would discourage the bad guys from committing these acts within certain neighborhoods because they know they’re not going to be able to get away with it,” said Frank Fowler, Syracuse Police Chief.

Wednesday, District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick said there are a number of incidents where people should come forward including a deadly shooting in Thornden Park July 4th.

“They’re probably a 100 to 150 witnesses that saw this shooting and as of yet that crime remains unsolved. That’s a community disgrace,” said Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick is hoping a new program will help. Tip 411 allows tips to be sent to any of the police agencies in the county anonymously using their individual tip code. The transmission happens almost instantly and he demonstrated how.

“If you’re afraid of retaliation, you don’t want to leave your name on a voice recording, you don’t want to use your phone on a tip line reach out to Tip 411,” said Fitzpatrick.

Read full story from TWC News

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Near-instant results for Cumberland’s new CCPOTIP crime text service

When Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae announced the rollout of the expanded countywide CCPOTIP crime tip texting system, she said she hoped the public would use the service.

But she may not have realized how quickly Cumberland residents, when they heard of the system, would put it to use.

Literally just a couple of hours after the Nov. 18 press conference, around 4:16 p.m., the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office received its first tip — information about a fugitive from Vineland.

Jennifer Watkins of the 1500 Block of Mayslanding Road, Vineland, was arrested Nov. 19 on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in Superior Court on a burglary charge, officials said. 

The next day, Sheriff’s Officers Timothy Woods and Joshua Sheppard used the information to track down and arrest Jennifer Watkins of the 1500 Block of Mayslanding Road, on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in Superior Court on a burglary charge, officials said.

She was taken to the Cumberland County Jail, Bridgeton.

“I am encouraged to see that the CCPOTIP app has worked so soon,” Webb-McRae said recently after the first tip arrest with the expanded system. “It demonstrates that this tool is a safe, convenient way for the members of the public to help law enforcement.

Read the full story from NJ.com

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See crime? Text TIP411 to Onondaga County cops without revealing who you are

Onondaga County has a new way to reach your local police with a crime tip — without revealing who you are.

There are three ways to do it: You can text TIP411. You can download the county’s TIP411 mobile app on iPhone or Android. Or you can find the Onondaga County Crime Tips Facebook page. (You don’t need to log into Facebook to submit a tip.)

You could be witnessing a violent crime or a suspicious person or something else that police should know about.

All police agencies countywide — from college public safety officers to sheriff’s deputies — can now be reached at any time with a TIP411 text, District Attorney William Fitzpatrick announced today. (Some of the smaller departments are not staffed 24 hours.)

Even better, on-duty officers will get text alerts immediately. Law enforcement can text back with questions. You can send videos and photos from the scene.

Read the full story from Syracuse.com

tip411 In The News

Southwest Metro Drug Task Force seeks tips by app and text

A suburban drug task force is the latest Minnesota law enforcement agency to use texting and mobile apps to attract would-be tipsters.

Last week, the Southwest Metro Drug Task Force activated its “SWMTip” app, powered by St. Paul-based technology company tip411, for residents to submit anonymous tips and photos from their smartphones.

Phil Nawrocki, a Scott County Sheriff’s Office commander, said the first tip arrived within a day of launching the app. The task force joined more than 30 other Minnesota agencies using tip411 after noting how often it gathered information from mobile photos or text messages, Nawrocki said.

“Rather than have the individual go back home, sit down and try to find our e-mail address and contact info, they have a cellphone in their hand that can directly send confidential information to us,” Nawrocki said.

The Southwest Metro Drug Task Force covers Scott, Carver and McLeod counties as well as the cities of Excelsior, Greenwood, Shorewood and Tonka Bay.

Tip411’s apps keep tipsters anonymous by assigning them a six-character alias to be used when communicating with authorities, said tip411 President Terry Halsch. The company also has a “text-a-tip” system that is used by roughly 1,400 agencies around the country, he said.

Read the full story from the Star Tribune…