tip411 In The News

Fredericksburg police launch anonymous tip app

Members of the public have a new way to submit anonymous tips to the Fredericksburg Police Department.

The department has launched a new smartphone app that will allow tipsters to pass on information to the police.

The public can already call police with anonymous tips, or text the department at 847-411 and then text “FPDTip” and then their tip, but this opens up a third avenue.

In all three forms, the tips are sent directly to the department’s communication center. When a person sends a tip, they’ll get a confirmation message. Photos can also be submitted.

The department has not tracked the number of anonymous tips they received, but Police Spokeswoman Sarah Kirkpatrick said several hundred come in per year. Capt. Rick Pennock said tips are essential, and appreciated.

“A lot of major crimes are solved with the public’s help,” he said.

The app was launched in city schools last year as a pilot program, Kirkpatrick said.

“The school resource officers got tips about fights, drug deals, and prevented crimes from happening because of FPD Tip,” she said.

Police say the app may appeal to some people who are reluctant to phone in tips to dispatchers because those calls are recorded. The app does not require the tipster to provide any personal information.

“If they feel safe and secure in giving us a tip through an anonymous way, it’s more help,” Pennock said.

Read the full story at Fredericksburg.com

tip411 In The News

Text a tip about crime in Berks County

Submitting an anonymous tip about crime in Berks County is now easier than ever before.

Crime Alert Berks County unveiled its first-ever text-a-tip program during a news conference at the district attorney’s field office in Bern Township on Thursday.

The volunteer Crime Stoppers group’s new partnership with tip411 allows anyone with information about crime in Berks to text an anonymous tip to 847411 (tip411), beginning the message with the keyword alertberks.

“Texting has become the new wave of communication,” said Berks County District Attorney John Adams, who serves on Crime Alert’s advisory board. “Teenagers and adults seem to utilize this method of communication more so than picking up a telephone. Accepting tips by text should result in more tips that result in arrests, which equal a safer community.”

Anonymous tips can also be submitted securely through the free mobile app, which was also developed by Minnesota-based tip411.

Read the full story from WFMZ.com.

tip411 Uncategorized

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

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…