Ansonia Police
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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

Police Cruiser
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Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Uses Alert to Share Home Safety Tips

 

Security Tips for Securing Your Home

 

Home security is always a priority. Here are some good Home Security Tips we found at Howstuffworks.com

1. Lock up your home, even if you go out only for a short time. Many burglars just walk in through an unlocked door or window.

2. Change all the locks and tumblers when you move into a new house.

3. For the most effective alarm system, conceal all wiring. A professional burglar looks for places where he or she can disconnect the security system.

4. Your house should appear occupied at all times. Use timers to switch lights and radios on and off when you’re not at home.

5. If you have a faulty alarm that frequently goes off, get it fixed immediately and tell your neighbors that it’s been repaired. Many people ignore an alarm that goes off periodically.

See the alert and full set of safety tips here.

tip411 a Great Tool for the Police
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“…Communication is vital to our residents…and tip411 provides a great tool for the police!”

tip411 interviewed City Manager Pete Landrum and Police Chief Dennis Evers of Beavercreek, Ohio about their experience with tip411 in their community.

Q: Tell us about your community and the Beavercreek Police Department (how many residents, how many sworn, etc.).
Chief Evers: The City of Beavercreek is a suburb of Dayton, Ohio and is the largest city in Greene County. We are one of the fastest growing suburbs in the Dayton area and are situated near Wright Patterson Air Force Base. The city is comprised of approximately 46,000 residents. Many residents are current or former military personnel employed at the base or by one of the many research and manufacturing firms engaging in defense technologies, aerospace and other advanced technologies.

Our police department has 50 sworn officers. We have received the “Accreditation with Excellence” distinction from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). We have two major highways and two malls within the city that pose policing challenges due to the increased daytime population.

Q: How did you hear about tip411?
Chief Evers: Our current City Manager, Pete Landrum, was familiar with this product at his previous position as Township Administrator in Delhi Township, a suburb of Cincinnati. He suggested we explore using it.
Manager Landrum: It is a good communication tool with residents and easy to use for both users.  It worked well in Delhi Township and I thought it would also be a good fit in the City of Beavercreek.  I simply sent Chief Evers the link to tip411 on the Delhi Township website and asked him to review and told him how I thought it was a really good tool and program.

Q: How is tip411 administered in your area (responsibilities, protocols, etc.)?
Chief Evers: After normal administrative business hours, the Communications Center and the on duty supervisor are responsible for monitoring and directing the tip information for the proper response. During normal business hours, one of the Captains is responsible for this function.

Q: How has tip411 aided Beavercreek?
Chief Evers: tip411 has allowed us to push out to our various social media platforms our information, notifications, alerts and news releases through one click of the mouse.  It affords us another means to facilitate two-way communication with our community.
Manager Landrum: The value is in the communication with residents.  It is a great way for residents to communicate and provide tips to us as well as a great way for our Police Department to mass communicate with residents and ask for their assistance.  It is difficult to place a value on such a tool that will prevent crime or help catch those who have committed crimes, which can save lives and prevent property damage.

Q: Any notable tips/arrests credited to tip411 that come to mind?
Chief Evers: With the help of tip411, we have been able to identify suspects in multiple cases, including thefts and a bank robbery.  By using tip411 to post surveillance images of the suspects to the Police Department Facebook and Twitter pages, we are able to seek assistance from not only our community, but also the entire Dayton area and beyond.  Citizens viewing the post are able to quickly and conveniently submit an anonymous tip using the link provided in our posting.  With the help of those tips, we arrested a purse thief and a serial shoplifter who had stolen TV’s from multiple stores in our city. We also positively identified a bank robber after receiving multiple tips.  In all of these cases, the tips leading to the suspects’ identities have been within one day of our postings, which is a testament to the efficiency and effectiveness of tip411. 

Q: What have you done to promote your tip411 system to make sure residents know about it and use it?
Chief Evers: We use our web page and the quarterly city “In Touch” newsletter that goes out to all of our residents. We also use the customized tip411 flyer, which we distribute at community events.

Q: Any advice for other agencies considering tip411?
Chief Evers: Our agency has found it to be a valuable tool that has aided our efforts to push out important information to the community. The communication and response we have been receiving from the community when we have solicited their help in identifying suspects has been phenomenal and exceeded our expectations.
Manager Landrum: I just know that communication is vital to our residents with all departments and tip411 provides a great tool for the police!

Tip leads to N.H fugitive in South Carolina
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Tip leads to N.H. fugitive in South Carolina

Anonymous tips led to the arrest of New Hampshire “Fugitive of the week” Wesley Barkley in South Carolina.

Barkley, 32, was arrested without incident by the U.S. Marshals fugitive task force at a residence on Foxfire Road in Cowpens, S.C., according to the U.S. Marshals Service in Concord.

Barkley, is now in custody at the Spartanburg County Jail as a fugitive from justice based on the outstanding N.H. warrant. Barkley is expected to return to New Hampshire in the near future, the Marshals said.

As part of the “Fugitive of the Week” poster, the Marshals include multiple ways to communicate with investigators in an effort to develop information on these fugitives. Since 2014, one method is through anonymous emails and text messages through a system developed by the company, Citizen Observer called Tip411. It was through that anonymous messaging service that the task force received a half dozen tips pointing investigators to Barkley’s location in South Carolina. The anonymous messaging service has proved itself countless times as an invaluable tool for the NH Joint Fugitive Task Force, the Marshals said.

Barkley was featured as the “Fugitive of the Week” on April 18. Barkley was wanted on an outstanding Rockingham County arrest warrant for failure to appear on a charge of assault on a minor. The wanted poster also indicated that Barkley had an extensive criminal history, had been known to resist arrest and may carry a handcuff key on his person, according to the Marshals.

The “Fugitive of the Week” had been aired on WTPL-FM, WMUR-TV, The Union Leader, The Nashua Telegraph, The Patch, Foster’s Daily Democrat, Manchester Information, the Manchester Ink Link and prominently featured on the internet. The “Fugitive of the Week” has been a very successful tool that has resulted in the location and arrest of numerous fugitives since its implementation in 2007, the Marshals said. Additionally, the “Fugitive of the Week” is distributed statewide to all law enforcement officers.

If you have any information about the location of a New Hampshire fugitive, please don’t hesitate to contact the NH Joint Fugitive Task Force anonymously at: WEB-TIP or TEXT the word NHTIP followed by any information to the phone number TIP411, the Marshals said.

Read the full story from Fosters.com

Anonymous tip texting app
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Rockland law enforcement unveils anonymous tip texting app

Anyone who witnesses a crime or can provide information on wrongdoing can use a free anonymous cell phone application to text police.

The county’s social media-based tip411 application was unveiled Tuesday by the Rockland District Attorney’s Office and local police. The system has been used in Westchester County, as well as across the state and nation.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSYSwYWPjB0&w=560&h=315]

While police still want emergency calls to go to 911, tip411 is geared toward texting tips and video and could overcome fears of witness intimidation, authorities said during a news conference at the District Attorney’s Office in the Rockland Courthouse.

The application also allows for receiving police alerts and social media channels.

“Giving the public the ability to anonymously communicate with police will allow people to provide key information without fear of reprisal,” District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said. “Tip411 will also help to alleviate a lack of witness cooperation, which has hampered the investigative process in many criminal cases.”

The targeted audience is especially young people, who are rarely without their cell phones.

“Tell a young person to make a phone call and they don’t want to,” Zugibe said. “Tell them to send a text message, no problem.”

The “RocklandCo DA app” can be downloaded free from Google Play Store, iTunes App Store, or by visiting the District Attorney’s Office website at www.rocklandgov.com.

Police said the system enables people to send anonymous tips about crime, drugs, bullying and suspicious activity to their local police department with officers able to respond, creating a two-way chat.

Three ways to send tips:

  • Send anonymous text tips to 847411 – tip411- then type keyword “rocklandcoda” add a space, type your tip info and hit send.
  • An anonymous tip can be sent through the free RocklandCo DA Smartphone app for iPhone and Android or tablet.
  • Use the anonymous web tip form at the District Attorney’s Office at www.rocklandgov.com.
“This does not replace 911 for crimes in progress,” Zugibe said, adding the tips are an investigative tool for police to solve crimes. “The tips are 100 percent anonymous.”

Police said the tip system has been used in Westchester County for nearly six years and has helped solve “cold cases.”

The system costs $17,000 for 24 months. The cost is paid through funds seized from criminal enterprises, District Attorney’s Office Capt. Brendan Donohue said.

All tips will be investigated just as if a person called in on the telephone or walked into a police station, authorities said, referring to people submitting false information.

Zugibe also said the information is not prosecution testimony.

“This is not a substitute to testimony,”  he said. “This will be a valuable investigative tool.”

Read the full story from Lohud.