Anon SMS for Sending Crime Tips to the Police

In collaboration with the City of Boston and the Boston Police Department, Hill Holliday has announced the unveiling of an anonymous text message tip line for law enforcement in Boston.

This is the first such initiative in the United States.

In a press conference held today, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis unveiled the major initiative to revitalize the city's anonymous crime tip hotline. The tip hotline program, called Crime Stoppers, is being enhanced by enabling citizens to text message an anonymous tip to police. In addition, the program will be promoted to Bostonians though a targeted pro bono advertising campaign.

"The City of Boston is excited to introduce this new and innovative approach to the Boston Police Department's Crime Stoppers program," said Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis. "We are confident that the anonymity of the text function coupled with the sophisticated outreach program will inspire individuals to provide police with helpful, investigative tips."

VeriSign enables the mobile messaging application, created the intuitive system users interface and provides the direct connection to the mobile carriers.

According to CTIA, mobile users sent 18.7 billion text messages in the month of December 2006, up 92 percent from 9.7 billion messages in December 2005. Text messaging is the preferred channel for many teens and those in the 18 to 24 year-old demographic. More than 70 percent of young adults (18-24) and close to 60 percent of teens (13-17) send text messages every month (M:Metrics)."

Posted to the site on 15th June 2007