Now, tip off Sarasota sheriff by text message

SARASOTA COUNTY -- The Sheriff's Office is now offering tipsters a new and hip way to report crimes -- text messaging.

Sheriff's Detective William Carroll said the department wanted to give citizens -- especially tech-savvy young people -- an alternative to the traditional telephone hot line.

By using a cell phone keypad, people can report drug activity and other criminal activity while ensuring anonymity.

(Swanny note: I want all cell phone users to take pictures of Police Criminal activity)

The Sheriff's Office started a trial run of the program on Wednesday to see how well it works.

"My expectation is that it will be successful," Carroll said. "We might get a younger crowd because that's all teenagers and young people do is text message each other."

Authorities in Hillsborough County initiated a similar program this week, and cities like Boston and San Diego also have Crime Stoppers text messaging.

Sarasota police Capt. Paul Sutton said he got the idea to use it here after reading an article about the success of text messaging.

Other cities turned to text messaging because of declining numbers of calls. Some citizens were concerned about their anonymity because of features like caller ID.

Sutton said Crime Stoppers numbers here have not declined. The hot line averages about 300 calls and 100 tips a month, in addition to tips sent to the Web site and e-mail address.

"It's just another option for people," Sutton said. "Some people are just more comfortable with text messaging, and we want to reach out to everyone."

Swanny Note : Check out the video below from News regarding THEIR NEW Idea...how much of it is the SAME thing? 

Cocoa Florida Police are introducing "Drop a Dime" Text Messaging.
Police do not want you to feel like a snitch. Hahaha , well most of the time that is what you are. Snap a picture and text it. Text messages. Of course your IP is visable. The fears of retailiation are at least thought of. BTW, is this offered by Cocoa Police because Cocoa is a largely poor population? Low income, and perhaps that is why there is crime there because people are trying to survive any way they can?

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