Takoma Park police have created a text messaging system that receives anonymous tips from cell phones.
The system, called Tip411, expands the department’s ability to gather information from the street, Chief Ronald A. Ricucci said in a statement.
It allows anyone with a cell phone to send an anonymous tip to the Takoma Park Police Department by typing in the number 847411 and typing the word TPPDTIP before the message. The tips are 100 percent anonymous. The company that runs the system’s technology removes all identifying information before forwarding the tip to police.
“When someone feels afraid to come forward, or simply feels like they don’t want to get involved, this can be a great way to pass information without fear of retribution,” Ricucci said.
The tips, he noted, should be for nonemergency use only. In an emergency, residents should still call 911.
Crime Solvers, the public-private partnership that collects tips for police in the region and often provides rewards for information, also runs an anonymous tip line. To pass a tip to Crime Solvers regarding a crime anywhere in the Washington area, text the message to TIP187 (274637).
Text message tips to Crime Solvers are also anonymous and are sent to police departments only after being routed through a text message receiving center in Canada.
Both anonymous text message systems are extremely helpful to police because they allow law enforcement officials to reply back to the tipster, unlike with anonymous phone messages, which are a one-way street from tipster to police, authorities said.
