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Anonymous texts to ACPD lead to drugs, gun and five arrests

A tip to Atlantic City’s anonymous texting system led to drugs, guns and five arrests.
Thursday morning, police received texts from an unknown person to tip411 that handguns were inside a room at the Madison Hotel, Sgt. Kevin Fair said.

That sparked an investigation by Detective Ermindo Marsini at the hotel on the beach block of Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Abdul Bobo-Moore, 22, ran when detectives tried to stop him leaving the hotel, Fair said.

He didn’t get far, and had heroin on him, according to the charges, which include possession with intent to distribute and obstruction of justice.

In an apartment inside the Madison, police arrested four teenagers, Fair said.

Azyiah Henry, 18, of Mays Landing, was charged with possession, possession with intent to distribute and possession within 500 feet of a public zone.

Omar Law, 18, of Atlantic City and a 17-year-old Mays Landing girl were charged with drug possession. The girl also was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

A 16-year-old boy, also from Mays Landing, was found in possession of a loaded handgun magazine.

Detectives also found a loaded handgun inside the apartment. That will be sent to the

New Jersey State Police crime lab for further analysis, Fair said.

Detectives recovered 110 individual bags of heroin and 25 grams of marijuana in total.

The three adults were released on summonses. The two minors were released to their parents with future court dates.

Tip411 allows people to have an anonymous conversation with police by texting tip411 (847411) beginning with ACPD.

Information may also be called in to police at 609-347-5858.

View the alert from Atlantic City Police

Benton Harbor Police Department Cruiser
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New tip411 system not intended to replace 911 calls

Lack of witness cooperation has been a frustration for Benton Harbor Public Safety Director Dan McGinnis throughout his law enforcement career.

He hopes that use of a new, customized, crime-fighting smartphone app will help residents get involved. The tip411 system, which will be available to Benton Harbor residents within four weeks, is 100 percent anonymous, McGinnis said Friday.

McGinnis stresses that it is not intended to replace 911. He said residents in an emergency situation should continue to call 911. But someone witnessing a minor incident or having delayed information about a major incident should use the tip411 app. Residents in Benton Harbor without a smartphone will be able to text an anonymous tip to police via a cell phone by texting keyword BHPD to 847411 (tip411).

“This is not to replace 911,” McGinnis said. “But sometimes, if people want to be anonymous, they get frustrated if they call 911 to report something and a dispatcher starts asking a battery of questions when the person just wants to have the police come. People get frustrated and hang up.”

The app will allow residents to find information, view alerts, report crimes as they happen, and submit anonymous tips from their smartphone. The technology removes all identifying information before police see the tips, and there is no way to identify the sender.

“Our mission is to partner with the community to solve problems and improve public safety in a manner that is fair, impartial, transparent and consistent,” McGinnis said. “We believe our new tip411 app will help engage residents to partner with us and help fight crime.” 

McGinnis said he does not know all the reasons people are uncooperative or unwilling to report crimes or provide witness testimony. He said a common reason is fear of retaliation. Although in reality, he said, that typically does not happen. 

“Or sometimes they’re just apathetic. We have people who are victims and they will not name the perpetrator. It’s a cultural thing,” he said.

Developed by tip411, the app will improve the public’s access to agency alerts, social media channels and important information, tip411 President Terry Halsch stated in a news release.

“We’ve listened to feedback from partners like Benton Harbor and have built a more advanced and innovative product to help departments better engage their communities,” he said.

McGinnis said as soon as the app is available for residents to download, it will be announced through traditional media and social media.

Read the full story from The Herald Palladium

Help Fight Crime
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Washington County Sheriff’s Office launches new app for reporting substance use

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is partnering with Healthy Acadia to launch a new mobile app, WashingtonCo Sheriff, which allows residents of Washington County to anonymously notify law enforcement about underage drinking and illegal drug use.

A press release from Healthy Acadia states users of WashingtonCo Sheriff can submit tips directly from their smartphone via an anonymous text. Tipsters are encouraged to provide specific details about the location of the violation and the people involved, if possible. The tipster’s name and telephone number will remain completely anonymous.

They said the app is available for both iPhone and Android users and can be downloaded for free via the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store.

The sheriff’s office said residents in Washington County without a smartphone may still send an anonymous tip via text message to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office by texting the keyword WCSO and their message/tip to 847411 (tip411) from their cell phone.

Those without access to a cell phone may submit an anonymous tip online using the form found here: https://www.tip411.com/tips/new?alert_group_id=21864.

Read the full story from News Center Maine

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Benton Harbor bringing in tip411 app

Benton Harbor residents will soon be able to report suspicious activity through tip411, a smartphone app that allows people to report activities anonymously.

Public Safety Director Dan McGinnis said he wants to help citizens feel safe communicating with law enforcement.

“The company that does this will not reveal the person’s name,” he said. 

He said they have talked to people who know who shot them, but won’t tell the police. 

“We had a person who had been murdered, who was done in front of people who actually took him to the hospital and none of them wanted step up and speak,” he said.

McGinnis said it’s a chance to let people communicate on their own terms.

“We just need the information,” he said. “We don’t care where it come from in most cases. But if we don’t get it, it makes it hard for us to protect your neighborhoods.”

In addition, he said the app will allow the department to send out alerts if needed.

After the meeting, Deputy Director Mike Clark said residents will be notified, when the app is ready, about how to download and use it through the city’s website and a news release. He didn’t know how long it will take to launch the app. 

During the meeting, McGinnis said one of the things residents sometimes want to report anonymously is illegal dumping.

McGinnis declared war on illegal dumping about two weeks ago. Anyone who sees someone suspected of illegal dumping can call the new dumping hotline at 944-7929.

“It’s absolutely appalling,” he said.

He said a state Department of Environmental Quality investigator last week found five automobile repair shops that didn’t have the proper paperwork, showing that they legally disposed of scrap tires.

“They are on notice,” he said. “… The tire situation is absolutely horrendous. We have hundreds and hundreds of tires in ravines.”

McGinnis said they have made 13 arrests concerning illegal dumping since the last City Commission meeting. 

Read the full story from The Herald-Palladium

Ansonia Police Cruiser
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Ansonia Police Make Arrest In Vandalism Case, Investigate Another

Ansonia police announced the arrest of two 17-year-old males Tuesday who allegedly caused $1,500 in damage to the soccer field at the Ansonia Nature Center.

Both suspects were charged with first-degree criminal mischief. They’ll appear in closed-doors hearings in juvenile court in Waterbury. They were arrested March 2.

“Information received through the Tip411 program and social media led to the identity of the suspects and several witnesses,” police said in a prepared statement. “All Ansonia residents are encouraged to sign up for Tip411, it is a program that allows people to leave anonymous tips and complaints with the police department as well as receive notifications from the police department.”

Three days after the arrest police were called to investigate a separate vandalism incident, this time at Abe Stone Park on Colony Street.

Police said a motorbike and a truck drove on the soccer field there.

“The vandalism is believed to have occurred over the last two days as the tire tracks are in the recent snow. The Ansonia Police Department is asking anyone with information to please call 203-735-1885. Information can also be left on Tip411,” police said.