Keep our Woods & Waters Safe

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife debuts crime-fighting app

Need to report suspected illegal activity related to fish, wildlife or boating to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources?

Now, there’s an app for that.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has partnered with tip411 to offer the public a way to submit anonymous tips using the new KFWLaw smartphone app or by text message and the web. Similar technology has helped reduce crime in communities nationwide.

“Through these new channels, the public can report crimes or suspicious activity anonymously and in real-time directly to Kentucky’s conservation officers,” said Col. Eric Gibson, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s Law Enforcement Division director. “It’s crime fighting the 21st Century way.”

The free KFWLaw app can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store. Links to the stores also are posted on the department’s website.

Anonymous tips can also be submitted from non-smartphones with texting capability. Text the keyword “KFWLAW” along with your message or tip to 847411 (tip411).

Whether using the app or texting tips via a non-smartphone, the technology removes all identifying information before officers see the tips. There is no way to identify the sender.

These new features supplement the department’s longtime tip line, 1-800-25-ALERT. In an emergency, or when there is an urgent need for law enforcement, calling 9-1-1 remains the best course of action.

Kentucky’s conservation officers are sworn law enforcement officers with statewide jurisdiction but a primary mission focus on hunting, fishing and boating enforcement.

In their everyday role, conservation officers ensure compliance with hunting and fishing laws and ensure that the state’s waterways are a safe place for all to enjoy by utilizing a two-pronged approach consisting of education and enforcement.

Read the full story from the Northern Kentucky Tribune

Submit a Tip Ayden Police Department

Ayden police now lets users anonymously submit tips online

Police in one Eastern Carolina town are working to make it easier and more modern to submit tips online.

The Ayden Police Department now lets you submit a tip on Facebook. Users can go to the town’s Facebook page and click “Submit a Tip” on the left side of the page.

This is part of a program called tip411 that Ayden is employing to help better inform the community of any crime alerts.

The tip service will ask basic questions such as the issue, where it is happening and any other details.

Ayden police remind residents in the event of an emergency, they shouldn’t submit it online and instead call 911.

Read the full story from WITN.com

Rocky Boy Police Department

Rocky Boy police implement anonymous tip smartphone app

Rocky Boy Police Department announced this week that, with the help of tip411, it launched an application to allow people to make anonymous tips to law enforcement.

Rocky Boy Police referred the Havre Daily News to its press release and to tip411’s website at https://home.tip411.com for information.

The press release said the app will help Rocky Boy residents and law enforcement officers obtain information.

“The Rocky Boy Police Department is increasing its crime-fighting arsenal with a new app to help residents connect with the department to find information, view alerts and submit anonymous tips from their smartphone,” the release said.

The app was launched Saturday and is aimed to help better connect law enforcement with the public, it said, adding that the app is a powerful crime-fighting tool and is available for all ages. The app is available for free on the Google Play Store, iTunes App Store or by visiting the Rocky Boy Police Department Website at http://www.chippewacree-nsn.gov .

The app removes all identifying information before sending anything to law enforcement, ensuring all information shared is 100 percent anonymous, it added. It also allows the public to share anonymous tips with Rocky Boy Police Department, as well as allowing officers to respond back, creating an anonymous two-way conversation, the release said.

“Our mission is to promote safety and enhance the quality of life for all our residents,” it said. “We believe our new anonymous tip system will aid us in those goals.”

tip411 is a company which helps different agencies effectively engage with the public, its website says. The app is also an easily implemented community notification systems which includes crime alerts as a cost-effective, web-based solution. 

The website added that the system also allows law enforcement to send crime and community alerts to public groups, neighborhood watches, businesses or school campuses. It said the system is aimed to give people an ability to come forward with what they are seeing in their communities without fear of retaliation.

In the press release from Rocky Boy Police Department, tip411 President Terry Halsch said the app will also give people critical access to information and alerts to help fight crime in the area.

“We’ve listened to feedback from partners like Rocky Boy Police and have built a more advanced and innovative product to help departments better engage their communities,” Halsch said. “The Rocky Boy PD app, powered by tip411, will greatly improve the public’s access to agency alerts, social media channels, important information and more to help fight crime.”

The release added that residents in Rocky Boy without a smartphone can also share information with law enforcement by sending anonymous text tips using their cellphones by texting RBPD and their message to 847411 (tip411).  Anonymous web tips can also be submitted through the department’s website at http://www.chippewacree-nsn.gov .

The app also has the number for Rocky Boy Police Department, a webpage link and a Facebook link. People who are trying to make a tip to law enforcement will have to include a subject for the tip, along with the location and description of what they are reporting. They can also attach a video or photo to the message.

Read the full story from Havre Daily News.

Lynn Police Massachusetts

“We’re absolutely getting tips we wouldn’t have gotten without this system. It’s a great asset for our department.”

tip411 interviewed Captain Mark O’Toole of the Lynn, Massachusetts Police Department.

Q: Tell us about Lynn and your department (how many residents, how many sworn, etc.).
A:
The City of Lynn is the ninth largest city in Massachusetts with a population of approximately 93,000 but likely another 10,000 undocumented persons. We are 10.4 square miles and have been accumulating “city problems” over the years. We’re one city away from Boston but have a lot of the same issues they do, just on a smaller level. Our department has shrunk from almost 200 sworn down to about 165. Crime is going down in terms of the index numbers, but the calls for service have not decreased. We run the gambit on all crimes including robbery, car breaks, larceny, and housebreaks.

Q: Why did you decide to bring tip411 to Lynn?
A:
Over the years we’ve seen a mindset among the population of not wanting to get involved and not wanting to cooperate. We found tip411 to be a conduit to get information while allowing people to remain anonymous. As technology gets better, more and more people in our community communicate via text. We wanted to tap into that rather than making people pick up a phone and call. The custom app tip411 built for us is making a huge difference in getting tips as well.

Q: Anything you would tell other agencies considering tip411?
A: We’re absolutely getting tips we wouldn’t have gotten without this system. It’s a great asset for our department. It gets us into the younger, tech savvy generation. Once they send us a tip, it’s out there, and they can’t take it back.  The two-way communication is great because we can ask questions and many people respond back with more information so we can deploy our resources. Tip411 has been a huge help to our people. Unlike our anonymous phone tip line where we can’t ask that next question to get more information, we can and do with tip411. Almost everyone has a cell phone, they can take pictures and send things to you and they do, and it’s instant. If you can get them to tip you on some stuff, you can get them to tip you on bigger, more important stuff, too. tip411 has been a great investment for us in terms of gaining information and communicating with our public. If you’re not on it, you’re missing out on the opportunity for some really great information to help solve crimes.

Q: Any notable tips/arrests credited to tip411 that come to mind?
A:
On March 21stwe got a tip about a Level 3 Sex Offender that was living in our community near an elementary school. The subject was confirmed as unregistered in our city as required, more investigation was done and charges were filed for failure to register. This is the type of thing we want to know, and we were able to take action as a result of the tip. We have a wide variety of crimes, and when our PIO sends something out to the newspapers, on Twitter, and on Facebook, we always put the tip411 information on it. We include video stills when we can, and we get a fair amount of tips that lead us to who the person or persons are.

Q: Any success working with other jurisdictions through tip411?
A:
We received a tip not long ago about a guy wanted on a sexual assault crime. The tipster told us he was living at an address in Pensacola, Florida, and we reached out to Pensacola PD and they were able to apprehend the guy.

Q: How is tip411 administered in your department (responsibilities, protocols, etc.)?
A:
Tips come in to the patrol division and the commanding officer is responsible for monitoring them. There are several other people in the department, including myself, who have access to the tips and can monitor them on their phone in case it’s something that needs immediate action. For example, we’ve had complaints of children possibly being neglected and it comes through and patrol has gone right out and done checks on the addresses and acted swiftly when required.

Q: What have you done to brand and promote the tip411 system in Lynn to make your residents aware of it?
A:
We promote tip411 through our website, with community groups, and include the tip411 information on anything we’re asking for the public’s assistance on.  We have business cards with our tip411 information on them as well that we hand out to community members.We have some vice situations that I’m concerned could turn violent, so I’m working on a campaign to reach out to that at-risk community specifically with information about tip411 and how they can share information with us to protect their and others’ safety anonymously without having to identify themselves.

Q: Have you noticed an increase in the number of tips your department is receiving and cases you are solving since implementing tip411?
A:
I just looked at the numbers and since we began partnering with tip411 in 2014, we’ve gotten over 3,000 tips. We love the feature of the two-way communication and people being allowed to include photo/video tips. The vast majority we receive are about narcotics activity, and I’ll frequently respond back to the tipster asking for more information. We do get information back that has resulted in very successful investigations. These types of successful investigations can be directly attributed to the tip411 service.

Q: What types of tips/situations have you seen tip411 be most useful for in Lynn?
A: A good thing about the texts is that they can’t take it back. Sometimes people reach out with information in the heat of the moment while they’re angry or upset, and we have that information in digital form. tip411 is definitely useful for narcotics and for vice crimes as well.

Crime Solvers Tip411

Fairfax County Crime Solvers Partners with tip411

Fairfax County Crime Solvers has partnered with tip411 to introduce a new and innovative crime-fighting tool.

Through a partnership with tip411, information can now be shared anonymously with police via a free smartphone app, text message, or a web tip form.

Fairfax County Crime Solvers encourages anyone with a smartphone to download their free Fairfax Co Crime Solvers app for iPhone/Android or to text anonymous tips to 847411 using keyword FCCS.

Residents should submit tips about crimes, drugs, bullying, threats, suspicious activity, and more to help police protect students and community members of all ages.

Issues requiring immediate public safety attention should always be reported directly police by calling 9-1-1.

More information about Fairfax County Crime Solvers can be found at www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org