GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Metro Denver Crime Stoppers is getting hipper in hopes of nabbing more bad guys.
Officials for Crime Stoppers on Wednesday unveiled “Text-A-Tip,” a campaign to encourage students and others to send in tips via text messages, rather than phone calls.
“If I had to predict, this will be the leading vehicle for receiving crime tips,” Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said after a news conference at Cherry Creek High School to announce the program. “This is a big leap forward.”
So far, Aurora, Cherry Creek, Doug las County and Denver school districts have joined the tip-texting partnership. Officials are hoping to recruit more districts.
For most kids — and many adults — text messaging is the preferred way of communicating, so, officials said, why not make that available to them in reporting crime and other concerns to police?
“Our goal is that our parents feel their children are as safe with us as they are in their homes,” said Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Mary Chesley.
Students say texting anonymously will help ease trust concerns some may have about reporting to law enforcement.
“I think it really allows students . . . to finally be able to do the right thing and report crimes when they see it happening,” said Cherry Creek senior Justine Volkman.
As with the voice-line tips to Crime Stoppers, the text tips will remain anonymous.
The Douglas County School District implemented its own tip-texting program about a year ago. Since then, there have been about 350 tips sent in, said Sheriff David Weaver.
In one case, a text tip helped police identify a student who had written a hit list. Another text tip led them to a student who was threatening suicide. In both cases, tragedy was averted, he said.
“On suicides and overdoses,” Weaver said, “it’s worth its weight in gold on that alone.”
How to text a tip
Anyone can text-message a tip to Metro Denver Crime Stoppers. To make a report, type in the code 274637 (CRIMES), choose the “text message” option on your phone, enter the initials “DMCS” and a space, write your tip and then send it.
