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(Feb 2015) - Trust seems to be growing that Atlantic City’s system allowing the public to text tips to police anonymously does what it says.
Police have had nearly 900 text conversations with tipsters since the system was implemented about two years ago, and that doesn’t include multiple tips that have come in on those conversations, police say.
“Some people leave the conversations open,” Sgt. Monica McMenamin explained.
A conversation that started with a report of an abandoned car could move on to a tip about a drug transaction to something about a weapon.
True tip numbers are more than 1,000, said Deputy Chief William Mazur, who spearheaded the implementation of the system in Atlantic City.
“Cooperating with police, there’s a real fear attached to that,” Mazur said. “People can be killed. They can be hurt. We acknowledge that. They need to know that this is truly anonymous.”
With the system, witnesses can text tip411 — 847411 — beginning the message with ACPD. Android and iPhone users can also download the Atlantic City tip411 application, which allows them to then just click the icon and type in their tip.
The messages come through with an identifier that mixes a series of letters and numbers, so there is no trace of who sent the message. It remains open until the tipster closes out or the police close the case.
“On several occasions — when I heard gunshots, drug deals and fights that needed policing — I texted tip411,” one resident who used the system told The Press of Atlantic City, in response to a call for those who have used it. “Sometimes the response was fast, and other times it may have seemed a bit too long. But regardless, the police still came.”
The resident said she believes the system is a good one.
When the message comes into Atlantic City, a series of beeps alerts those with access. At first, only certain supervisors had access, but that could mean there were times when no one was manning it, leaving tipsters waiting for a response.
Dispatchers are now trained, since they are on around the clock.
One tip came in about a group of young men trying to get into a closed convenience store, tip 87K2B7 showed.
“I parked and used the tip411,” the man who texted that tip told The Press. “Within five minutes, the police responded to the area.”
Last year, the Vice Unit made arrests in a dozen cases, Lt. James Sarkos said.
They will be helped now by a new feature that lets the tips be sent to specific units.
“Not everyone needs the narcotics tips,” McMenamin explained.
Instead, those will go to Vice and then be passed on to the detectives working those cases.
This is a newly available upgrade from Citizen Observer, the St. Paul, Minnesota-based company that created tip411, company President Terry Halsch explained.
“It allows agencies like Atlantic City to do a better job of managing the tips that are coming in over the anonymous tip system,” he said.
They can also forward the tips to other agencies that use the system, including the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office, Vineland police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Pennsylvania.
Not only can the tips coming in be sorted, the system also allows police to put out alerts to specific neighborhoods.
Residents can sign up for access at citizenobserver.com. McMenamin noted that after police tout the system at civic association meetings, there is a noticeable spike in the number of sign-ups in that area.
Police aren’t just looking for crime reports. Quality-of-life issues also can be sent. The theory is, if they can get those things taken care of, they will trust the system when it’s something more dangerous.
“The truth is, that’s how you build trust,” Mazur said.
Those without smartphones can still use the system. The tip page can be accessed on the Citizen Observer website.
Contact Lynda Cohen:
609-272-7257
@LyndaCohen on Twitter