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Are crime-fighting apps truly a boon for law enforcement?

In a recent update from the National Sheriff’s Association, tip411 was mentioned in an article about crime-fighting apps:

“Fort Myers Police Department in Florida launched a similar app called the Tip411. It will allow Southwest Florida residents to submit tips and report non-emergency criminal activity while remaining anonymous.

It will not replace 911 calls, but the police believe that it will help them make the neighborhoods safer with the help of an engaged community. At this point, it is a win-win, but it remains to be seen whether these apps turn out to be the boon that their makers promise them to be.”

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Use Social Media as a Force Multiplier

For agencies with alerting capability, did you know you can connect your tip411 system to Facebook and Twitter to have alerts post automatically to your followers without any extra work? You can also have anonymous tip forms connected to any agency Facebook page so your followers can share tips directly from social media without having to visit your website. Interested? Contact Gordy Christian today and he’ll help set you up at no extra cost.

“We use it in virtually every instance in which we ask for the public’s assistance. Even when we use another social media platforms, like Twitter, to shares suspect images, videos, etc., we ask followers to submit information using tip411. It doesn’t matter to our agency if it is a routine retail theft case or a murder investigation; we include that as a resource to the public.” – Major David Dalton, Clearwater, Florida Police

 

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Get Administrators Trained!

Nothing is worse than having your agency receive tips that aren’t being monitored and responded to in a timely manner. Make sure your staff is adequately trained and that tips are going to personnel who will be responsible for logging in, checking on tips, and starting a 2-way conversation with the tipster.

“At first, the Crime Analysis Unit and I were the main administrators of the program. When tips came in we would farm them out to patrol, narcotics, etc. As the popularity of the system grew, we realized there was a need for 24/7 coverage because we wanted to make sure people weren’t texting us tips and then waiting for a response to come during normal business hours.” – Major David Dalton, Clearwater, Florida Police