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.
