Smartphone Newest Tool for White Plains Police
Looking to make it easier to report crimes, the White Plains Public Safety Department this week introduced a new service that lets citizens send tips anonymously through text message or via their smartphones. Police and city officials believe the service, launched on Thursday, will make it easier for people to send in tips and ensure they can be confident their reports will remain confidential.
“We just wanted to keep up with the times,” White Plains Public Safety Commissioner David Chong said in an interview. “This gives the ability for a lot of people to use the items they carry around with them to give us real-time tips, and to remain anonymous while they do it.”
Those looking to send an anonymous tip can do it at the public safety website (www.wppublicsafety.com), by sending a text message to 274637 (which spells out “crime”) with the subject line “WPPD” or with the “TipSubmit” app on their iPhone or Android Mobile. The person’s message will be encrypted so their identity will be unknown to the police, but they’ll still be able to have a two-way conversation, according to a press release announcing the new initiative.
“White Plains continues to demonstrate its commitment to public safety through the introduction of this technology to prevent, reduce and solve crime,” Mayor Tom Roach said in a press release. “With this new service we invite the public to take an active role in making their community safer.”
Chong said he expects the service to result in a slight bump in the number of people reporting crimes anonymously, as citizens who may not be comfortable calling police will take advantage of the new options.
“There’s a certain comfort level, in today’s day and age, in being able to do the right thing and not having to talk to a human voice,” Chong explained. “We’ve talked to some of the other people in the nation who have gone to this, and they say they’ve received some additional tips. Only time will tell.”
Officials encouraged citizens to send in tips even of a non-urgent nature and to report crimes like vandalism, theft and drug sales as well as planned crimes.
For more information, visit the department’s website.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
