crime – Page 23

October 3, 2018December 28, 2018 drivi86 In The News

Northampton sheriff: New app for crime alerts and tips

A new app alerts Northampton residents to crimes or other incidents — and it also allows users to send in crime tips or report unusual activity to the Sheriff’s Office anonymously.

Northampton Sheriff David Doughty announced the free Tip 411 app is available to the public.

“We are working every day to continue to strengthen our relationship with the community,” said Doughty, adding, “It has been my mission since day one as your sheriff to make Northampton County as safe as it can be.”

The app is “a great way for our citizens to become involved with helping us make Northampton County a safe place to live, work, play and raise our families,” Doughty said.

The free app can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store or the Google Play Store by searching Northampton Sheriff.

Residents also can send tips from a computer or tablet by going to http://www.tip411.com/agencies/northamptoncosheriff/groups/21736

Additionally, tips can be called in to the tip line at 757-678-0458, or texted to 847411, beginning the message with “NCSO,” according to a press release.

The app is not intended to replace calling 911 or to be used in emergencies.

The Sheriff’s Office also has partnered with the county school district to provide the app to enable students to send anonymous tips to school resource officers, school administrators, or other authorized personnel.

“The app will give students a way to anonymously communicate with school officials and law enforcement on issues that pose a threat to the safety of their fellow students, teachers and staff,” according to the release.

Read the full story from the Salisbury Daily Times

October 1, 2018December 28, 2018 drivi86 In The News

tip411 App in Onondaga County Busts Marijuana Growing Operation

An 80-year-old woman and her son were charged with growing marijuana in Clay.

According to the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, Rosemary Mezzatesta, 80, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana in the third degree and unlawfully growing cannabis after a concerned community member notified deputies using the Tip411 app.

Mezzatesta’s son, 51-year-old Albert Merola was also charged with criminal possession of marijuana in the third degree, unlawfully growing cannabis and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Both were issued appearance tickets.

Read the full story from CNYCentral.com

September 17, 2018September 18, 2018 drivi86 In The News

Crime reporting app Tip411 coming soon to Ashland City

Ashland City residents will soon be able to submit anonymous tips and receive communications from the local police department using an app.

The Ashland City Council approved the Tip411 contract at its meeting Tuesday, locking in a three-year contract at $4,800, covered in the police department’s budget, Chief Marc Coulon said at the meeting.

Tip411 is used in more than 1,400 communities nationwide, according to the web-based tool’s website. That includes local, county, state and federal agencies, and even schools.

Tip411 “helps agencies engage community members of all ages by enabling anyone with a cell phone to submit tips via a smartphone app or text anonymous tips that can be responded to in real time by authorized personnel in the agency or organization,” it states.

Coulon said even Cheatham County residents outside of Ashland City can use the app to send tips to the Ashland City Police Department anonymously, and the department can relay those tips to the appropriate jurisdiction.

Citizens can also include image and video files to their web, text message or app tips to provide more specific information to Ashland City police, according to Tip411’s scope of services. The department will follow up on tips and will be able to respond to the anonymous tipster, archiving conversations.

Tip411 will assist the department in adding “submit a tip” and “sign up for alerts” buttons on the department’s website and social media pages, among other things.

Ashland City police can also send notifications — including maps, images, links, case information, suspect or missing person information and more — to users. Those alerts can also be posted to the department’s social media accounts.

Deputies will be able to log into Tip411 from anywhere with internet access on any device.

Coulon guessed that the service would be available to the public in about three weeks to a month.

Read the story from the Tennessean.

*This story incorrectly states the contract is for $3,600.

August 27, 2018September 18, 2018 drivi86 In The News

Rockland District Attorney’s Office tips411 app: What are tipsters reporting?

The Rockland County District Attorney’s tip411 app has been downloaded hundreds of times in its first six months and has generated dozens of tips from all corners of the county, some leading to arrests.

The app lets smartphone users send anonymous tips about suspected crime, drugs, vehicle and traffic concerns, suspicious activity and other quality of life issues to their local police department with officers able to respond, creating a two-way chat.

The app’s settings allow users to receive alerts about reported crime on a countywide basis or in just their own towns. Users can also submit posts, photos and video from social media.

VIDEO: Rockland DA announces new tip411 app for anonymous tipsters

ROCKLAND: Law enforcement unveils anonymous tip texting app

One tip led to a shared investigation between the county Narcotics Task Force and Ramapo police that resulted in a pair of arrests for cocaine, marijuana and a stun gun.

Three arrests for outstanding warrants also came as a result of tips through the app, said Capt. Brendan Donohue of the District Attorney’s Office Detective Bureau, who oversees the program.

“It’s a great way people can report on things without having their name exposed and they can help fight crime,” Donohue said. “They’re really partners with the police, that’s the whole idea,”

Dohohue said the majority of the tips have been for suspected crimes like drug deals on the streets or complaints like speeding or stop signs being ignored in specific neighborhoods.

“We can use our resources to put cars in those areas,” he said.

District Attorney Tom Zugibe said the app takes the fear out of reporting suspected crime because law enforcement cannot trace the users’ identity.

Read the full story from Rockland/Westchester Journal News

August 27, 2018September 18, 2018 drivi86 In The News

New app ‘tip411’ keeps Ansonia police, community connected

The Ansonia Police Department is using today’s technology as a tool to help fight crime.

The department is launching a phone app called the tip411 alert system, as a new and interactive way to keep the community connected and informed through emails, text messages and online public safety alerts, according to Police Chief Kevin Hale.

The app allows users to report crimes and other suspicious activities directly to police by sending anonymous text messages from their cell phone or via a free smartphone app.

“We believe an informed community is a safer community,” Hale said. “The new tip411 system allows our department to engage with the public and share information that will help make Ansonia a safer place.”

Residents can register to receive alerts from Ansonia Police via email and/or text message to their cell phone by opting to receive neighborhood-specific or citywide alerts about public safety issues in their area. Community members are encouraged to sign up online by visiting the city’s a website.

The public can also share information on crimes and other suspicious activity by sending an anonymous web or text tip to police. While the new app is not a replacement for dialing 911 in an emergency, those wishing to share information anonymously with police can simply text AnsoniaPD and their message to 847411 (tip411), according to Hale.

The new AnsoniaPD App for iPhone and Android from tip411 enables the public to share an anonymous tip with police and lets the officers respond back creating an anonymous two-way conversation.

The AnsoniaPD App and tip411 anonymous text a tip system are 100 percent anonymous, as the technology removes all identifying information before police see the tips and there is no way to identify the sender.

Read the full story from the New Haven Register