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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Attorney General's Office has a new weapon in the fight against crime — a cell phone.
Surrounded by chiefs and officers from police departments across the state, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff on Wednesday announced a new initiative that will allow residents statewide to anonymously give police tips via texts or their computer browser. The tips can be in text form or videos and pictures.
"This is a tool to help law enforcement better do their jobs," Shurtleff said. "This is the technological weapon of choice for many law enforcement agencies."
Shurtleff called it "digital crime fighting." Because criminals are utilizing this technology, he said it's up to law enforcers to use it also.
Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder said law enforcement agencies would "miss the boat" if they didn't adapt to new technologies.
Using the company TipSoft, 51 law enforcement agencies throughout the state now have the ability to take tips using smart phones, computers or iPads. The system is set up in such a way that all tips are completely anonymous and cannot be traced.
This is a tool to help law enforcement better do their jobs.
–- Mark Shurtleff, Utah Attorney General
"We cannot go back and figure out who submitted the tip. It is absolutely secure," promised TipSoft founder and CEO Greg Whisenant.
Yet the software being used by police still allows them to contact the person who submitted the tip if they need to collect any follow-up information, Whisenant said.
People who have a tip about a crime can send a text message to "CRIMES" (274637) and add an agency-specific keyword. On a computer, residents can send a tip via www.tipsubmit.com or by downloading the TipSoft app on their iPhone or Android.
Shurtleff recommended residents have their local police agency saved in their "contacts" on their phone.
The Salt Lake City Police Department has already embraced social media, including having its own Facebook and Twitter pages. Chief Chris Burbank said there are multiple people in his department monitoring those sites daily for tips.
Having a tip line doesn't mean much, Burbank said, if the tips just sit in a computer file and are rarely looked at.
"The quicker we respond to a crime, the better we're able to prevent another crime from happening on top of it," he said.
Burbank admitted, however, that filling a staff position to monitor the tips will be a problem. But he called the new online tip line one more avenue similar to the department's traditional tip line on a traditional telephone.
Not everyone is comfortable using a telephone, Whisenant said. Some people prefer texting, he said.
One concern is whether the convenience of texting and the security of anonymity would prompt a rash of false police tips. Law enforcers Wednesday agreed it is a concern. But Whisenant said usually after an initial spike of false tips, the number of false reports generally dies off.
Email:preavy@ksl.com
