In an effort to provide a safer community the Duluth Police Department launched tip411.  It's an internet based tool that will allow the public to text message "tips" to the police.  The individual sending the message will remain anonymous and the police will be able to respond thus creating a two way chat.

It's reserved exclusively for Public Safety purposes and powered by CitizenObserver out of St. Paul MN. This puts a powerful new crime fighting tool into the hands of our community for everyone of all ages and demographics.

Here's how it works:  anyone with a cell phone can send an anonymous tip to Duluth Police Department by texting the word DPDTIP and the tip information to 847411 (tip411).

“We’re proud to be part of a national program that benefits over 1000 communities around the county. This new capability will help our citizens play an active role in keeping neighborhoods safer, it will engage a younger demographic in the process, and it will save our agency time and resources."

Anonymous web tips can also be submitted from the Police Departments website at http://www.duluthmn.gov/police/index.cfm.  Again, its 100% anonymous. CitizenObserver’s technology removes all identifying information before the Police Department see’s it so there’s no way to identify the sender.

According to Chief Gordon Ramsay, this capability is a new paradigm for creating safer communities – especially in reaching out to a younger age demographic. “When someone feels afraid to come forward, or simply feels like they don’t want to get involved – this can be a great way to pass information on without fear of retribution.”

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