Pine Bluff and Jefferson County residents now have a new way to report information to the police department, using their mobile phones.
Called TipSoft, the service allows mobile phone users to send anonymous tips to Crimes (274637) with the keyword PBPD.
“The widespread use of text messages makes it easy for the public to help law enforcement agencies fight crime,” Police Chief Brenda Davis-Jones said. “And with TipSoft, they know that it is safe for them to do the right thing without ever disclosing their identity.”
Davis-Jones will discuss the new service during a press conference Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the courtyard of the Pine Bluff Civic Center.
The service specifically allows those people sending text messages to remain anonymous by encrypting the text messages, assigning them a unique alias and identification, and routing them through secure servers, protecting the personal details of the sender.
Residents are encouraged to use TipSoft to report information about any non-urgent criminal activity such as unsolved cases, vandalism, theft, the sale and distribution of drugs, or information about crimes that are being planned.