Waxahachie ISD

Waxahachie ISD launches anonymous crime reporting app

Students of the Waxahachie Independent School District can now anonymously report suspicious activities using their cellphones.

tip411 allows students, staff, parents and the wider community to ” to share important safety information anonymously with district and campus administrators by sending them secure messages with information about bullying, drug use, and suspicious or potentially criminal activity via a free smartphone app,” according to a Friday press release.

“When a tip comes in, it will go to the campus administrator, our district head of security, our superintendent and the executive director of secondary or elementary learning, depending on if the tip is for an elementary or secondary campus,” District Spokesperson Jenny Bridges said.

The Waxahachie ISD says the free mobile app allows students and staff to play a role in keeping their schools safe without fear of retribution.

“Waxahachie ISD students excel in every area, from academics to fine arts to athletics and more,” said Dr. Bonny Cain, Waxahachie ISD Superintendent. “But our students can’t achieve if they don’t feel safe, and we believe the tip411 anonymous reporting system will add another level of safety and security to our campuses.”

The launch comes on the heels of an incident at Midlothian High School on Sept. 6 where the school went into lockdown after two students reported to staff what the District called “a possible threat.” The lockdown lasted several hours while police, dressed in combat gear and carrying heavy machinery, combed the building.

“We always encourage our students if they see or hear something to say something,” said Midlothian Independent School District Superintendent Lane Ledbetter in a statement posted on Facebook hours after the lockdown was lifted. “These two students did just that – reported what they thought they saw and heard.”

“After a long and thorough investigation, the Midlothian Police Department deemed the threat was unsubstantiated,” Ledbetter added.

tip411 is already being used by schools, police departments and community groups across the country. Critics of the app, however, say the system might become overwhelmed with frivolous tips that will take away the attention of investigators from serious incidents.

“The tip411 system has been successful in communities across the U.S.,” said Terry Halsch, president of tip411, in the release. “We are excited to work with Waxahachie ISD to bring our innovative app and text a tip system to connect and engage students directly to participate in promoting safety in their halls.”

Those without the app can still text anonymously by sending a message to 847411, beginning with a keyword linked to the school they are reporting about.

Read the full story from WaxahachieTX.com

BJA - Bureau of Justice Assistance U.S Department of Justice

tip411 is a Qualified Program for DOJ-BJA Grant Funds

Through its Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the U.S. Department of Justice is releasing over $34M in grant funds for state and local jurisdictions to prevent and reduce school violence through use of technology. tip411 is a qualified program to provide through the use of these grant funds.

As you may know, BJA is the primary provider of criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions.

The BJA STOP School Violence grant clearly outlines use of this kind of technology, tip411, as a priority.  In fact, BJA plans to make up to 17 awards of up to $250,000 each under its Category 7: Technology and Reporting.  The main objective under this category is “to implement a technological solution, such as an anonymous reporting technology, that can be implemented as a mobile phone-based app, a hotline, or a website in the applicant’s geographic area designed to enable students, teachers, faculty, and community members to anonymously identify threats of school violence…  The proposed technology solution should be used to help prevent incidents before they occur.”

tip411 is a cost-effective web based toolset that allows law enforcement to communicate with, and get tips from, the community across a variety of channels including custom branded apps, 2-way anonymous text messages, community alerts via email, text and social media.

Applications are due June 11, 2019.  To reiterate, tip411 is a qualified program to provide through these grant funds and we have staff on hand to help assist you in preparing your application to include our technology as part of your overall strategy.

Have questions? Contact us today!

Marion County Sheriff's Office

Marion Sheriff’s Office Investigates Alleged School Threat

Officers from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office acted quickly after receiving a tip of a “possible threat of violence” at a Marion County High School on Tuesday. The tip was received via the Marion County Sheriff’s Office tip411 app shortly after 11 PM Tuesday night.

Using the information from the submitted tip, deputies investigated the claim and determined that no threat against the schools existed. The school administrators were involved throughout the process, being notified of the tip when it was received and were later notified when the investigation concluded.

“The purpose of the partnership with the schools and the tip411 app was done in an effort to help school administrators and law enforcement provide a safe environment for our students in Marion County schools,” Sheriff Bailey stated. “Our students can be the eyes and ears and assist us in keeping a safe learning environment. They can do so without fear of retaliation by using the app, which allows them to provide us with information anonymously.”

“tip411” is an app designed to be utilized by students to provide information to school administrators and law enforcement about threats and offenses such as bullying, violent threats, drug use, suspicious activity, and other such acts. Providers of tips can remain 100% anonymous when sending a tip while conversing with officials.

Read the story from WMFD.com

Inver Grove Heights Police Cruiser

Inver Grove Heights PD Launches New Text Tip Tool

In a day when technology reigns, the Inver Grove Heights Police Department decided to turn to the devices that are almost always attached to people’s hands to help fight crime.

The department announced via its Facebook page Nov. 7 it will utilize Tip411, a program that allows folks to submit tips the way many communicate most — via text message.

Utilizing phones

Chief Paul Schnell said the program has been around for a number of years and is used by agencies in Minnesota and across the country.

“We know simply that we have a texting culture and people want to provide information, but one of the things that keeps some people from reporting or calling or providing information is the fact that they’re concerned about their anonymity,” he said.

Tip411 allows people to send texts that get filtered through an automated system. Schnell said the department doesn’t know who sent the tip — it can be text or a picture — and the system allows the department to communicate back to the tipster.

The day the post was made about the new feature, Schnell said the department received a useful tip through it. Someone let police know about a dump truck that was stolen from a business on Concord Street. The truck had also pulled down wires.

The department was able to communicate back with the tipster and verify the information. The tipster, however, never had to identify themself.

Tip411 is a product of St. Paul-based Citizen Observer. Schnell said he has used the system in other communities like Hastings and Maplewood, where it helped the department identify a homicide suspect and solve the case.

Use in the schools

Schnell said ISD 199 is also launching the Tip411 program, with the aim of improving school safety at the middle and high schools.

Superintendent Dave Bernhardson said the program was brought to the school’s attention by Schnell.

“Once we had that dialogue, we felt it was a very, very good opportunity for both of us to partner to get great information and obtain information from our kids, when needed,” said Bernhardson.

He said the district hopes students use the new tool as a safe space to communicate with officials about things that are concerning them.

“There seems, I guess we’ll find out, an unlimited amount of things that they can communicate, because in the end we want to make sure everything is as safe as possible for our kids,” Bernhardson said.

Schnell said Tip411 could be a mechanism for someone to report if they know of another student bringing a weapon to school. It could also be used for other things like reporting bullying or a student worried about another student talking about suicide.

“Ultimately, what it does is help create a safer school environment by getting good information to administrators to vet and sort through, and ultimately identify solutions,” Schnell said.

Bernhardson added any information gleaned over Tip411 would need to be confirmed, so he sees it as no different than other means of communication.

Read the full story from LillieNews.com

Augusta Police

Augusta police say there is no ‘direct threat’ after anonymous Cony High School tip

City police said school operations will carry on as usual on Thursday after an anonymous tip alluding to “a possible threat of violence involving a firearm and Cony High School” late Wednesday night.

“There did not appear to be any direct threats, however due to the nature of this incident, (police) immediately identified the Augusta juvenile, and embarked in an extensive investigation into the alleged threats,” Deputy Chief Kevin Lully wrote in a Thursday morning press release. “(Police) are working in conjunction with the school, parent and the student involved, all of whom are working very cooperatively with Police.”

Lully said police were in contact with the juvenile “within an hour” after the tip was received at about 10 p.m. He said there were no charges being considered “at this time” against the juvenile.

Lully told the Kennebec Journal that the threat was not leveled against a specific student, but the school in general. Despite the reported threat, he wrote in the release that “Augusta Schools continue to be safe for all users at this time.”

No additional police presence is expected at the school on Thursday, Lully said, but officers will be “highly visible” if students, staff, visitors or parents have questions about the incident.

According to police reports, a report of terrorizing was investigated on Tracy Street at 10:32 p.m.

The Augusta Police Department would like to thank the administration at Cony High and all our community partners for assisting us so we could bring this incident to closure as soon as possible.

The anonymous tip was communicated through the new mobile application, “Tip411,” that was launched earlier this month.

View the full story from the Kennebec Journal