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| The Windham Police Department is offering a free app for smart phone users to report crime tips anonymously. COURTESY PHOTO |
By
Elizabeth Richards
Windham
residents now have access to a new tool to help keep their community safe. With
the introduction of the new Windham PD App, developed by tip411, anonymous tips
can be submitted via the app, text, or website.
“The mission of the Windham Police Department is to
provide the citizens of the town of Windham a safe, secure community in which
the protection of life and property are the highest priority,” said Kevin L. Schofield, Chief of
Police, in a press release. “Making it easier for residents to connect with us
to provide information is paramount to our efforts, and we believe our new
tip411 system will help keep our community safe.”
The idea rose out of an old system that
was in place years ago that centered around combatting underage drinking said
Capt. William Andrew. With that system, someone could call and leave a tip
about a party, or if someone needed help.
Managing that individually was difficult,
Andrew said, so the department began to explore other platforms that were
available to the general public.
The department received a grant from the
Be The Influence coalition and partnered with tip411, which is also used by the
Maine Drug Enforcement Agency as well as other Maine communities.
A few months of behind the scenes work
was necessary before launching the app, such as development of apps for both
Apple and android products; determining who would receive the tips; getting
quotes for the cost of the service; and exploring the cost to include the
school department as they develop an avenue for submitting school-related tips,
which will be available at a later date.
Tips
submitted to the anonymous tip line will trigger an email alert that goes to
specific members of the Windham police department. Tips will also be monitored
as they are received by the dispatch center at Cumberland County Regional
Communications Center.
“Some tips don’t need immediate
attention,” Andrew said. Others need to
be addressed right away. The dispatch
center will monitor incoming tips and triage the calls to determine if they
need to be brought to the department’s attention immediately.”
Andrew
said it’s important to know that the tip411 system does not take the place of
dialing 9-1-1 in an emergency. In emergency situations, people should still use
911 so the department can get help to those who need it immediately.
The
tip411 technology removes all identifying information before the police
department receive the tips, making these communications completely
anonymous.
Tips
can be sent from a smartphone using the free Windham PD app; by text message to
847411 by typing the keyword WPDTIPS, a space, and then the tip information
before hitting send; or through the anonymous web tip form on the Windham PD
website (www.windhammaine.us/170/Police), by clicking the tip411 logo.
The free Windham PD app can be downloaded
from the iTunes App Store, the Google Play Store, or from the city website.
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