Tech-forward police departments using SMS text message tip lines
By Will Park on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 5:31 PM PST In Announcements
While dialing “911″ in an emergency is the safest way to get help in a hurry, police departments in Boston and Cincinnati, as well as over 100 other communities, have started to adopt SMS text messaging systems as a new means for upright citizens to contact police on the latest criminal activities. And, with technology on their side, police departments savvy to the text messaging boom are quick to get the down-low on nefarious activities in the area.
The text message tip lines have yielded some good results so far, and police hope that the younger demographic will continue to be more open to texting in their tips rather than calling a telephone hotline. Tips are sent anonymously, so tipsters can be assured that police can’t track the tip.
“It’s obvious that the future of communication is texting,” said officer Michael Charbonnier, the technologically naive commander of the Boston Police Department’s Crime Stoppers unit. SMS text messages aren’t exactly the future of communication, but it sure is nice to see John Q. PoliceOfficer adopting technology to keep us safe.
[Via: AP]
We already have that in South Africa quite some time ago, and is a real help to the Police service