In The News – Page 44

November 18, 2019January 6, 2020 drivi86 In The News

City police add alert system app to better communicate with public

Tips to and from Johnstown Police Department are now just a click away.

Through a program developed by Minnesota-based CitizenObserver, Johnstown police are launching Tip411 – an interactive alert system “app” that enables both the police and public to alert one another about important public safety issues, police Captain Chad Miller said.

Options such as Push Out the Pusher and the department’s Facebook page have been valuable for tips, Miller said, but people are more comfortable sending a text or photo than leaving a telephone message or identifying themselves on social media.

Because Tip411’s program software doesn’t collect IP addresses, phone numbers or any other identifiers, police only receive messages – unless a tipster decides to offer that information, the company’s creators said.

“We believe an informed community is a safer community,” Miller said.

Johnstown Police serve the city, Dale Borough, Middle Taylor and West Taylor townships. Through the downloadable “app” – or an anonymous text to “tip411” (847-411) – residents can quickly and anonymously send officers tips on unsolved crimes or report drug deals and other suspicious activity in their neighborhoods.

Johnstown Police, meanwhile, can respond to those messages – and post their own “alerts” about incidents such as missing person cases.

It’s a system that’s found crime-solving success in communities such as Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Works elsewhere

Atlantic City Police Department launched the alert system in 2013, Atlantic City Police Sgt. Kevin Fair said.

Back then, the New Jersey department was dealing with a common trend, striving to solve a surging number of street crimes while tips from the public through 911 seemed to be dwindling, police said at the time.

By turning to a third party vendor to manage the system, an environment was developed through Tip411 “for those who want to report a crime to be able to do it without being identified,” Fair told The Tribune-Democrat on Wednesday.

Atlantic City police received 226 tips the first year the alert system was active, he added.

By 2018, the tips had grown to 4,213, Fair said.

“We’ve had people send us messages, pictures and video that have been valuable to our investigations,” he said. “And because of the way the message is collected and delivered (to the department), we don’t know who sent it,” he said.

Signing up

Cincinnati Police Department used its app to notify the public about a missing 60-year-old man with dementia on Monday. A few days earlier, police reached out to the public to help them identify suspects in a city robbery.

November 14, 2019January 6, 2020 drivi86 In The News

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife debuts crime-fighting app

Need to report suspected illegal activity related to fish, wildlife or boating to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources?

Now, there’s an app for that.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has partnered with tip411 to offer the public a way to submit anonymous tips using the new KFWLaw smartphone app or by text message and the web. Similar technology has helped reduce crime in communities nationwide.

“Through these new channels, the public can report crimes or suspicious activity anonymously and in real-time directly to Kentucky’s conservation officers,” said Col. Eric Gibson, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s Law Enforcement Division director. “It’s crime fighting the 21st Century way.”

The free KFWLaw app can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store. Links to the stores also are posted on the department’s website.

Anonymous tips can also be submitted from non-smartphones with texting capability. Text the keyword “KFWLAW” along with your message or tip to 847411 (tip411).

Whether using the app or texting tips via a non-smartphone, the technology removes all identifying information before officers see the tips. There is no way to identify the sender.

These new features supplement the department’s longtime tip line, 1-800-25-ALERT. In an emergency, or when there is an urgent need for law enforcement, calling 9-1-1 remains the best course of action.

Kentucky’s conservation officers are sworn law enforcement officers with statewide jurisdiction but a primary mission focus on hunting, fishing and boating enforcement.

In their everyday role, conservation officers ensure compliance with hunting and fishing laws and ensure that the state’s waterways are a safe place for all to enjoy by utilizing a two-pronged approach consisting of education and enforcement.

Read the full story from the Northern Kentucky Tribune

November 11, 2019November 10, 2019 drivi86 In The News

tip411 Program Leads To Drug Bust and Two Arrests

On 11/08/2019 the North Dakota Parole and Probation, Barnes County Sheriff’s Office and Valley City Police Department conducted a search of a residence in the 100 Block of 6th Street Northwest in Valley City.

A variety of narcotics, narcotic paraphernalia along with two firearms were located and seized from the residence. Two individuals were taken into custody and criminal charges are pending. This incident is currently under investigation so if you have any additional information please contact the Barnes County Sheriff’s Office.

Attention was drawn to the residence through the anonymous Barnes County Tip411 program. Sheriff McClaflin would like to thank the public for their vigilance and assistance in this and other matters.

Read the full story from the Valley City Times-Record

November 1, 2019April 5, 2021 drivi86 In The News

Mobile app allows anonymous tips of illegal substance use

Police departments across the state are battling staffing shortages, which has led many departments to find new and creative ways of getting information about illegal activity.

In Hancock County, it’s becoming easier than ever to report crimes and now, you can report crimes without even dialing 911.

“Many people with their busy lives don’t want to take the time to provide information, or sometimes, they just don’t want to be known,” said Hancock County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Patrick Kane.

Now, residents of Hancock County have a new way of reporting crimes, particularly underage and illegal substance use, and they can all be made anonymously.

It’s part of the program TIP 411. Tips can be sent through a mobile app called HancockCO Sheriff that is available on the app store and google play. It can also be submitted online through the department’s Facebook page, or by sending a text to the number 847-411, with the keyword HCSO to start the message.

The main goal of this app is to prevent underage and illegal substance use. The program has been developed in partnership with Healthy Acadia, who shared a similar mission.

“Something in the community can do to reduce access to substance use,” said Healthy Acadia Community Health Director Maria Donahue.

The non-profit Healthy Acadia works to create healthier communities across Hancock and Washington Counties. The group received funding for tip 411 through Maine Prevention Services.

“The earlier that youth start using substances like alcohol and other drugs, the more likely they are to develop problems later in life,” said Donahue.

For Chief Deputy Kane, this new tool is the way of the future.

“I think that this is just the tip of the iceberg with technology such as it is,” said Kane. “This is going to work not only here, but I think you’ll see this grow in Maine and nationally,” he added.

See the full report from News Center Maine

October 22, 2019January 6, 2020 drivi86 In The News

Panama City Police Department launches ‘tip411’ alert system app

Reporting crime just got a little easier. The Panama City Police Department just launched an app called ‘tip411’ that allows the public to directly communicate with the investigators and officers at the station.

“If we have a situation to where we are actively investigating a case or we have a rash of burglaries or crimes within the area, this app gives us the ability to push out this information to the people residing in that area and for them to communicate information of stuff that they might see back to us,” said Investigative Services Lieutenant Chris Edmunson.

The app allows the investigator to communicate back and forth to the tipster, and it is all completely anonymous.

“Once the citizen sumits the tip to us, it immediately comes to us right there and the investigator assigned to that case will have the opportunity to immediately review it and then ask questions to that tipster,” Edmunson said.

This idea came from one of the police department captains and later being developed by Detective Kristian Shaw. It is an easy process.

“This allows them to a little bit of anonimity to come forward and to provide us with this information to follow up on some of these cases we’re working,” Edmunson said.

While living in a tech-savvy world, the department feels that this app will enhance the community’s safety.

“This is how people communicate nowadays,” Edmunson said. “They communicate through phones, through texts and through apps just like this, so I think it is going to enhance that communication between us and the citizens.”

The app is up and running and free in the Apple Store and Android Store. If you do not have a smartphone, you can still submit a tip on the city of Panama City’s website.

See full story from MyPanhandle.com