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Individuals in Pine Bluff and Jefferson County who have been reluctant to report information to police can now use their cell phones to provide tips to police without fear of revealing their identity.
A program called TipSoft allows cell phone users to send anonymous tips by text to Crimes (274637) with the keyword PBPD.
Police Chief Brenda Davis-Jones said it best in announcing the program, describing it as a way “to do the right thing” without disclosing the identity of the person sending a tip. We can’t complain about crime in Pine Bluff and not be willing to serve as the eyes for the men and women who risk their lives daily to protect us.
Residents are encouraged to use TipSoft to report information about non-urgent criminal activity, including unsolved cases, vandalism, theft, the sale and distribution of drugs, or information about crimes that are being planned.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Urgent information can be quickly provided to officers by calling 9-1-1. When lives are at stake, there is no excuse for remaining silent.
The TipSoft service encrypts the text messages much like military and intelligence services send messages, assigning them a unique alias and identification. The message is sent or routed through secure computers servers, protecting the personal details of the sender.
Tips are routed to a number in Canada, where all identifiers — “meta-data” to the computer geeks — are removed and the tip is forwarded to police here. It provides another layer of anonymity.
Citizen input is crucial to put the brakes on crime.
Utilizing emerging media technology offers a potential weapon for police in their battle against the criminal element. It is one way to make sure the good folks, not the thugs, win the fight.
Report card
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Education Week magazine’s annual ranking of states’ education policies and performance indicates Arkansas is doing something right.
The state’s public education system placed fifth nationally in the 2012 Quality Counts analysis by Education Week, a national journal of education policy. Arkansas ranked sixth last year and 10th the previous two years in the evaluation.
Overall, Arkansas received a grade of “B-minus,” scoring 81.6, which placed it behind only Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia.
We have reason to be proud about the latest sign of Arkansas’ advancement in education. It indicates that good things are happening in Arkansas schools.
However, the policy changes have not significantly improved academic achievement. We receive a grade of “D” and a ranking of 34th in K-12 achievement.
The lowest scores were awarded in the category of K-12 student achievement. The District of Columbia, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia all received “Fs” in this category.
Arkansas’ best score was in transitions and alignment — ensuring consistent standards and smooth transitions as students go from one grade to another — where the state received an “A” and was ranked first in the nation.
The state also scored a “B-plus” for the quality of the teaching profession in the state, ranking second in the nation behind South Carolina. This is the first time the latter category was included in the report.
Arkansas scored an “A” in standards, assessments and accountability, ranking sixth in the nation, and a “C” in school finance, with a ranking of 27th.
The nation lost ground in the category of chance for success, which gauges the role of education in a persons’ life from cradle to career. Arkansas received a “C-minus” in the category. We can’t afford to forget that without academic achievement, we will have failed.