Anonymous tips from tip411 to NC WILDTIP program resulted in arrests
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NC Wildlife Uses Anonymous Tips from tip411 to Arrest and Convict Suspects in Illegal Hunting Case

An anonymous tip to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s NC WILDTIP (Turn-In-Poachers) program, powered by tip411, resulted in the arrests of two individuals who have been found guilty on 15 counts of unlawfully taking deer at night with the use and aid of an artificial light, referred to as spotlighting. In total, the anonymous tip resulted in five people receiving more than 160 combined charges related to the illegal hunting and killing of deer.
 
The guilty parties have been ordered to pay $9,030 in replacement costs for illegally killing 15 deer at night in Duplin County, along with fines and hunting licenses being revoked.
 
“It’s a big penalty we hope sends a strong message,” said Captain Chad Arnold, who heads NCWRC’s Investigative Unit and NC WILDTIP program. “We typically don’t see punishments like this, but we also typically don’t find individuals who kill 15 deer in one night’s illegal escapades.”
 
In November 2023, NC WILDTIP received an anonymous tip about this incident and included a photo of the suspect posing with 15 antlerless white-tailed deer.
 
In the six months ending in May, NCWRC has received 598 tips through NC WILDTIP and rewarded a total of $3,478. Anyone with information on illegal hunting can anonymously submit information through the secured online reporting tool located on the agency’s website. Information may also be submitted by texting keyword WILDTIP and the tip information to 847411.

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Tipping made easy

Last year, the Clinton Police Department rolled out an anonymous texting service that opened another avenue for citizens to report suspicious activity and incidents the agency could use to solve crimes. Now, through its own phone app, the department is making that process even easier — and more visual.

The ‘tipcpd’ app is available for free through the App Store on Apple and Android phones, and allows for quick and anonymous submission of tips from local citizens. As with the existing texting service, residents will be able to text back and forth with local law enforcement while remaining completely unknown to officers.

“We implemented it last year as just the texting of anonymous tips,” Police Capt. Donald Edwards said this week. “We’ve had some pretty good success and got tips on many cases. We’re excited about this new feature because it opens up the door for the ease of sending messages and the ability to attach pictures.”

The new app is an expansion of Tip411, a high-tech system that allows for anonymous texting of tips. Unrolled last summer, the Tip411 system has been utilized approximately 30 times for anonymous tips, ranging from those on murders to what Edwards called “day-to-day complaints,” which can be suspicious activity or other incidents where someone does not want to call 911.

Read the rest of the story in the Sampson Independent.