Social Media Is Helping To Stop Crime

Social Media Is Helping To Stop Crime

Social Media Is Helping To Stop Crime

In February 2012, Crime Stoppers issued a free iPhone app that allows people to anonymously report crimes or provide tips to solve crimes that have already happened. Crime Stoppers believed that providing easy access to report crimes would increase the amount of people who would provide tips.

They were right.

Since its inception, the mobile app has helped police make 22 arrests for unsolved crimes in South Florida. Since January, Crime Stoppers has helped solve over 500 cases through tips they received. This includes tips called in to their hot line, through text messaging and through their pages on the social sites. The mobile app is just an additional tool citizens can use to stop crime in their areas.

The truth is, criminals are in all the same places as your average citizen. They grocery shop in the same stores, they buy gasoline at the same stations, they even eat at the same restaurants. This mobile app helps concerned citizens make reports about criminal activity when they encounter the person, regardless of where they are located.

When a person provides a tip to Crime Stoppers, they may qualify for a monetary reward. Tipsters can receive up to $1,000 for their help in solving a crime. This incentive, however, can lead to many tips coming in that have no value. Crime Stoppers must review these tips carefully to discern which are real and which are not.

Social media and the new mobile app, along with the benefits of hand held mobile devices that have cameras, have increased the amount of qualified leads Crime Stoppers receives. People are simply snapping a photo with their phone and sending it in via the app or on the social sites to the authorities. This has improved following leads, and increased the amount of awards that are given. In fact, Crime Stoppers has issued over $120,000 in rewards this year alone.

Social Media Is Helping To Stop Crime
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