Coming Soon: Crime stoppers text line

By BRENDA TENBOER

The TipSoft program, used by more than 600 crime stoppers programs, schools and universities is soon going to become available in Big Horn County. The program allows anyone to report a crime completely anonymously because the text messages are first routed through a server, which removes all identifying information and ties to the reporting party.

Dispatcher Katrina Jares said the service should be available in about two weeks and dispatchers are nearly finished with the Webinar training sessions.

The program is an ideal tool for students to safely and anonymously report crimes or even suicide attempts, according to Karen Sylvester.

Sylvester is the coordinator for Yes I Can! a non-profit group that was awarded a grant for the project recently. She said the text-a-tip software cost about $1,300 with additional funds for training and supplies. Dispatchers in the north and south ends of the county will be trained to use TipSoft and the text messages will appear in almost real time on a designated computer screen, according to Jares.

Dispatchers will read the messages and handle referrals immediately, similar to 911 calls.

“But we still need people in an emergency to dial 911 and not use the text line,” she said.

“Tips can be about anything,” Jares said. “Suicide attempts are extremely important to us and we will dispatch whoever the responding unit will be right away.” Sylvester said anyone can report a crime in progress or what appears to be a drug sale taking place by texting the keyword bighorn followed by the message to 274637.

The caller’s cell phone number does not appear with the message because the text is first routed through the TipSoft server which disables any identifying information about the caller, Sylvester said. The anonymous crime tip is then forwarded to the proper authorities.

“I think we’re going to get more reporting, especially among the teenagers,” she said. “The program is up in Newcastle and what’s happened there is that two suicides have been prevented.”

The Big Horn County Health Coalition discussed the program at its monthly meeting in Greybull last week and discussion turned to liability issues with questions about who will exactly be responsible for reading the texts and making sure needed action is taken. In this county, dispatchers get the texts but in other places that’s not always the case.

In Jackson, according to Sylvester, all the texts go to school personnel.

“We’re just at the beginning of this, but we want it to be a good thing,” she said.

Sylvester said each Big Horn County high school will get 100 roll-a-banners with the mascot of the school printed on the front.

The goal is to allow sports spectators to hold up the signs showing their support with the team’s mascot emblazoned on the front and on the back in large letters will be the tip text line.

The signs were expensive and Yes I Can is covering the costs for publication for all five high schools but parents and teachers have already expressed support for the project, Sylvester said.

Visit the TipSoft Web site at http://www.andersoft.com/ for more information.