Leland Police Department’s tip411 is ready for Leland citizens play an active role to help reduce crime in the area.
Wednesday morning, Leland police went through a training program on how to use the new system and started handing out fliers to encourage residents to use the service.
“We are glad to offer this to our citizens and bypassers as a whole…. It’s married to not only the citizens but to anyone who can help,” Lt. Joseph R. Pierce said.
Pierce said the police department will continue to hand out its fliers so longtime residents and those new to town are aware of the tip line. The new text messaging system is just another way to open up communications between Leland residents and police.
All texts sent to tip411 are completely confidential and the line preserves the anonymity of the person texting the information. This way a person can send a text without having to fear of what might happen when giving away sensitive crime solving information.
“It’s just another media avenue that people can use that is readily available… one more way we can put the power in the people’s hands to report crime when they see it, and to tip us off where we can actually do something with the good information that’s provided,” said Pierce.
The text tip411 is not just a one-way communication. Once a tip is sent to the line, officers may respond to open up dialog with the person giving the tip. Tippers can also snap pictures with their cellphone and send via tip411.
“This is the first agency in Brunswick County to give the citizens at large the potential to send in a texted tip,” Pierce said.
The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office has a similar text-a-tip line set up in Brunswick County high schools between students and school resource officers. Pierce said he broadened the idea to make the Leland program work for a larger area.
Leland police officers won’t be the only ones to benefit from tip411. If officers receive information that is not within their jurisdiction they can relay the tip to the right people–whether it’s the detectives with the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office or investigators with the Wilmington Police Department or New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office.
Tip411 is not intended to compete with police departments or to be a substitute for 911.
“If we can relay information we get from text tip, we can work in cooperation with another agency to help minimize or eliminate the problem,” Pierce said.
The tip411 line is a subscription based service distributed by Citizens Observer–a company that offers law enforcement tools to gain community awareness and participation. One subscription service provides tools such as the anonymous text, crime alerts, and social media with tip411.
According to Pierce, the size of the area the agency has to cover determines the annual service fee. Leland police pay a $2,500 annual fee for tip411 services.
To use the service first enter 411LPD plus your tip and send to tip411 (847411). For more information about tip411 or to send tips via email click here.
More information is available on the Leland Police Department Facebook page.
