tip411 interviewed City Manager Pete Landrum and Police Chief Dennis Evers of Beavercreek, Ohio about their experience with tip411 in their community.
Q: Tell us about your community and the Beavercreek Police Department (how many residents, how many sworn, etc.).
Chief Evers: The City of Beavercreek is a suburb of Dayton, Ohio and is the largest city in Greene County. We are one of the fastest growing suburbs in the Dayton area and are situated near Wright Patterson Air Force Base. The city is comprised of approximately 46,000 residents. Many residents are current or former military personnel employed at the base or by one of the many research and manufacturing firms engaging in defense technologies, aerospace and other advanced technologies.
Our police department has 50 sworn officers. We have received the “Accreditation with Excellence” distinction from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). We have two major highways and two malls within the city that pose policing challenges due to the increased daytime population.
Q: How did you hear about tip411?
Chief Evers: Our current City Manager, Pete Landrum, was familiar with this product at his previous position as Township Administrator in Delhi Township, a suburb of Cincinnati. He suggested we explore using it.
Manager Landrum: It is a good communication tool with residents and easy to use for both users. It worked well in Delhi Township and I thought it would also be a good fit in the City of Beavercreek. I simply sent Chief Evers the link to tip411 on the Delhi Township website and asked him to review and told him how I thought it was a really good tool and program.
Q: How is tip411 administered in your area (responsibilities, protocols, etc.)?
Chief Evers: After normal administrative business hours, the Communications Center and the on duty supervisor are responsible for monitoring and directing the tip information for the proper response. During normal business hours, one of the Captains is responsible for this function.
Q: How has tip411 aided Beavercreek?
Chief Evers: tip411 has allowed us to push out to our various social media platforms our information, notifications, alerts and news releases through one click of the mouse. It affords us another means to facilitate two-way communication with our community.
Manager Landrum: The value is in the communication with residents. It is a great way for residents to communicate and provide tips to us as well as a great way for our Police Department to mass communicate with residents and ask for their assistance. It is difficult to place a value on such a tool that will prevent crime or help catch those who have committed crimes, which can save lives and prevent property damage.
Q: Any notable tips/arrests credited to tip411 that come to mind?
Chief Evers: With the help of tip411, we have been able to identify suspects in multiple cases, including thefts and a bank robbery. By using tip411 to post surveillance images of the suspects to the Police Department Facebook and Twitter pages, we are able to seek assistance from not only our community, but also the entire Dayton area and beyond. Citizens viewing the post are able to quickly and conveniently submit an anonymous tip using the link provided in our posting. With the help of those tips, we arrested a purse thief and a serial shoplifter who had stolen TV’s from multiple stores in our city. We also positively identified a bank robber after receiving multiple tips. In all of these cases, the tips leading to the suspects’ identities have been within one day of our postings, which is a testament to the efficiency and effectiveness of tip411.
Q: What have you done to promote your tip411 system to make sure residents know about it and use it?
Chief Evers: We use our web page and the quarterly city “In Touch” newsletter that goes out to all of our residents. We also use the customized tip411 flyer, which we distribute at community events.
Q: Any advice for other agencies considering tip411?
Chief Evers: Our agency has found it to be a valuable tool that has aided our efforts to push out important information to the community. The communication and response we have been receiving from the community when we have solicited their help in identifying suspects has been phenomenal and exceeded our expectations.
Manager Landrum: I just know that communication is vital to our residents with all departments and tip411 provides a great tool for the police!