tip411 Admin Resources, Agency Spotlight

What Made for a Successful Launch in Onondaga County, NY?

To announce tip411’s arrival at 20 agencies in the Syracuse area, District Attorney William Fitzpatrick did three important things:

  1. Held a press conference and invited chiefs from local departments to attend to show their support for the system and promote its use to local media outlets.
  2. Produced posters and flyers showing agency-specific tip411 keywords that participating agencies could hand out, give to business, hang in city buildings, and use on their social media sites and webpages.
  3. Participated in ongoing promotion – Aside from the initial press conference, the DA and Syracuse Police Chief gave one-on-one interviews to media outlets in the days following the launch to assure continued coverage of the new system in order to reach more members of the public.

See More:

Video – District Attorney Fitzpatrick discusses tip411 outreach
Video -Onondaga County Lauches tip411

 

tip411 In The News

The Victoria Police Department Launches tip411 Alerts

The Victoria Police Department is launching tip411 public safety alerts from Citizen Observer which is a new way to keep the community connected and informed through email, text message, and online public safety alerts.

“We believe an informed community is a safer community,” said Chief Jeff Craig.  The new tip411 system will allow our department to communicate directly with members of the public who are interested in receiving information about crime and public safety issues in the City of Victoria.

Read more from CrossroadsToday.com

tip411 In The News

Fredericksburg police launch anonymous tip app

Members of the public have a new way to submit anonymous tips to the Fredericksburg Police Department.

The department has launched a new smartphone app that will allow tipsters to pass on information to the police.

The public can already call police with anonymous tips, or text the department at 847-411 and then text “FPDTip” and then their tip, but this opens up a third avenue.

In all three forms, the tips are sent directly to the department’s communication center. When a person sends a tip, they’ll get a confirmation message. Photos can also be submitted.

The department has not tracked the number of anonymous tips they received, but Police Spokeswoman Sarah Kirkpatrick said several hundred come in per year. Capt. Rick Pennock said tips are essential, and appreciated.

“A lot of major crimes are solved with the public’s help,” he said.

The app was launched in city schools last year as a pilot program, Kirkpatrick said.

“The school resource officers got tips about fights, drug deals, and prevented crimes from happening because of FPD Tip,” she said.

Police say the app may appeal to some people who are reluctant to phone in tips to dispatchers because those calls are recorded. The app does not require the tipster to provide any personal information.

“If they feel safe and secure in giving us a tip through an anonymous way, it’s more help,” Pennock said.

Read the full story at Fredericksburg.com

tip411 In The News

Text a tip about crime in Berks County

Submitting an anonymous tip about crime in Berks County is now easier than ever before.

Crime Alert Berks County unveiled its first-ever text-a-tip program during a news conference at the district attorney’s field office in Bern Township on Thursday.

The volunteer Crime Stoppers group’s new partnership with tip411 allows anyone with information about crime in Berks to text an anonymous tip to 847411 (tip411), beginning the message with the keyword alertberks.

“Texting has become the new wave of communication,” said Berks County District Attorney John Adams, who serves on Crime Alert’s advisory board. “Teenagers and adults seem to utilize this method of communication more so than picking up a telephone. Accepting tips by text should result in more tips that result in arrests, which equal a safer community.”

Anonymous tips can also be submitted securely through the free mobile app, which was also developed by Minnesota-based tip411.

Read the full story from WFMZ.com.

tip411 In The News

Prosecutor’s Office unveils tip app

If you see something, text something.

That’s the aim with a new secure messaging smartphone app developed by Tip 411 for the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office.

The free app is called ‘CCPOTIP,’ and it gives both Android and iPhone users the ability to report tips and crimes anonymously and directly to authorities.

“The public is our greatest law enforcement resource,” Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said in a news release. “Our new CCPOTIP app will help our residents play a more active role in keeping Cumberland County safe.”

Officials plan to unveil the app at a news conference Wednesday morning at the Vineland Police Department.

The app allows users to share tips on public safety, crime or any suspicious activities with police by submitting a secure message.

Read the full story from The Daily Journal.