Oct 29, 2008 6:45 pm US/Eastern
Technology May Make It Easier To Solve Crimes
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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The unsolved murder of City Councilman Ken Harris has recently drawn attention to declining clearance rates for murder cases in the city, but unsolved murders are a problem for police departments across the state.
CBS
The unsolved murder of City Councilman Ken Harris has recently drawn attention to declining clearance rates for murder cases in the city, but unsolved murders are a problem for police departments across the state. Now, Baltimore area Metro Crime Stoppers has a new program, and they're hoping to change that.
As
Derek Valcourt explains, technology may make it a little easier for the public to give police information anonymously.
There weren't a lot of neighbors home when 26-year-old Jodi Torok was shot inside the doorway of her Crofton home. The attack left the pregnant woman struggling to survive in the hospital and left police asking for the public's help to crack the case.
"In this particular case, you have a young woman who was shot for whatever reason. Some people may know who did this, have a loyalty to the person who did it, but realize this isn't how things should be handled and want to give us a phone call or send us a tip in," said Capt. David Waltemyer with Anne Arundel County Police.
But not everyone is willing to talk to police on the phone. That's why you can now send Metro Crime Stoppers anonymous crime tips through text messages, thanks to a computer program called Tip Soft. It's already in use in dozens of other major cities around the country.
"You are in a situation where you got criminals right next to you. You can't be on the phone talking about it. You've got to be discreet. Text message does that. It allows you to send whatever you want," said Jim Bracille, Metro Crime Stoppers' president.
Here's how it works: you send a text to 274637 (CRIMES). In the body of the text, type "MCS" for Metro Crime Stoppers, then type in your tip. The computer sends the tip to the police without sending any information about you.
"That's an important piece. The computer is doing it, so we're not going to tell your name. We don't know your name," Bracille said.
"They can get a reward and they will get paid out and in today's economy, there's people out there that may not be upstanding citizens, but if they turn somebody in, they can earn some money that way," Waltemyer said.
If you're not into texting, tips can be sent anonymously through the Metro Crime Stoppers website or call
1-866-7-LOCKUP.
Metro Crime Stoppers expects the number of anonymous tips to triple with text messages.
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