Cities across the country have adopted Citizen Observer's Tip411 system. Tip411 allows citizens to use the internet or a smartphone app to send tips to the police when they want to report criminal activity while protecting their identity. The police never know the identity of the tipster. JPD can also use Tip411 to quickly provide crime information to subscribers in a specific area. The Yarber administration proposed adopting the service at to the city council Tuesday. However, the city council referred the proposal to a committee after Ward 2 Councilman Melvin Priester, Jr. led the charge against the service.
Mr. Priester said he was worried about people using an anonymous crime reporting service to settle scores against others. Mr. Priester said
I don't want to live in a city where someone can send an anonymous, untraceable message at two in the morning to say something like this "there's a guy dealing drugs at xxxx xxxx street. He's tall, African American, real clean, wearing a bow tie (describing Mayor Yarber), I smell marijuana every time I walk by. Texting I was by his house at .... a few minutes ago. I could see him through the window brandishing a gun, shouting at his wife. The resident at xxxx xxxx gets a couple of officers bursting in his door at 3:00 AM because of a tip from an anonymous untraceable text message sent at two in the morning by someone whose identity is unknown and whose motives are unknown.Mr. Priester said the system was ripe for abuse. However, he cited no such examples where such abuses occurred in a system that is widely used throughout the country. Mr. Priester went lawyer and said the phrase "anonymous untraceable text" over and over. He then charged the system was ripe for favoritism as well as "racial and class-based discrimination". Mr. Priester said suspects would be acquitted at trial because the tip would not rise to the level of probably cause.... and even cited Justice Scalia in support. No lie. Mr. Priester said police officers complain about the use of anonymous tips as they need actual testimony.
Mayor Yarber said one of his neighbors reported a crime but then refused to provide more information as she feared for her safety. He said many crimes are not reported because citizens live in fear of retaliation. He said "we are upgrading the technology" as the city has used 355tips (a phone service) for many years. He also said the system will allow the police officer to get more information and communicate to the tipster. He said Tip411 also allows them to quickly provide information in an area such as when "there is a school lockdown".
City Council President Stamps referred the proposal to the Rules Committee.
Kingfish note: Well, Mr. San Franciso liberal, there is a reason for the anonymity. It is to actually protect the lives of those reporting criminal activity. New Orleans used to have a policy of revealing the identity of those who reported crime to 911. The result was those reporting crime to the police were whacked when the suspects discovered their identities. What happened next was predictable. Few people reported crimes as they lived in fear. New Orleans crime spiraled out of control.
However, such things do not matter to Mr. Priester. He didn't cite any concerns for crime victims or neighborhoods terrorized with crime. The elderly couple who walks every day will not report the drug dealing they see in the park if they are scared to death of being beaten to death. Such people received no mention from the Harvard and Standord Law School graduate. While he waxed eloquently about potential police victims, he said nothing about actual crime victims. Mr. Priester said I don't want to live in a city...". Well, there is one solution to that problem: move!
Here is a news story posted on the company website about Tip411.
Company website
*Some of the governments and agencies using Tip411 are: San Antonio, Minneapolis, Duluth (MN), Kilgore (TX), Ascension Parish (La), Atlantic City, Scarsdale (NJ), Plano, El Paso, Laredo (TX), Denton (TX), Colorado Springs, Detroit, Lansing (MI), Boston University, DEA
**Blackberry Messenger operates on a similar principle where the actual phone number or identity is not provided to the other party in a chat.
17 comments:
Priester lost ALL credibility when he accepted campaign donations from Precious Martin.
Would Jackson's citizens prefer crime being under reported or over reported? As a lifelong citizen of Jackson, I prefer the latter!!
But the non-abuse will most likely outweigh the abuse. folks are sick of crime! those that are against it are probably living in gated communities where they feel safe. There needs to be a program like this. I think it is a great idea. Nothing else is working. Plus there's no difference between someone calling the police at "2:00 in the morning" to say the same thing (ref: comments in article). What in the hell is the difference if someone calls the police as a prank call or if someone calls the tip line as a prank call! HELL there is no difference! Helloooo?
Where does the guy live that was against it? This may explain his reasoning. The people of Jackson need help. The crime is uncontrollable. The current system is not working. Thugs are a menace and dangerous to our city. I would not be a policeman in Jackson if it paid $ 300k/yr. It is dangerous what these policemen have to face every day. However, it makes me sick to see a policeman that weighs 300 lbs that can barely get in and out of his car. Heck, I could not even see his gun under his belly. What good are they to the police force? He needed to be behind a desk. These out of shape guys/gals needs to be whipped into shape and trained to handle these dangerous thugs in our city. Put those cops that aren't able to catch a crook behind the desk and let's get more with military background out there and pay them more.
I called 911 last week while on I55 near Gluckstadt exit and was on phone 18 minutes. It routed me to sheriff, then they routed me to police, then they routed me to sheriff, then they routed me to hwy patrol and phone rang and rang. The HP finally answered and routed me back to sheriff. The sheriff routed me back to HP. The phone rang and no one picked up. So I hung up and called back....same thing. Unbelievable! so anything is better at this point as 911 sure does not work either.
There's a confrontation clause issue here that Mr. Law School Graduate Who Does Not Practice Law is ignoring.
The funny thing about Constitutional Conservatives is that they ignore the Bill of
Rights...ya know..the first 10 amendments to the constitution...unless it's the 2nd or 10th amendment. Well, the 6th amendment is still there, and anyone accused of a crime has the right to confront those who have evidence against him.
Anonymous tips are not enough. Look at Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325 (1990).
"The anonymous tip, as corroborated by independent police work, exhibited sufficient indicia of reliability to provide reasonable suspicion to make the investigatory stop."
Police will still need to do their own work before using these anonymous tips to justify arrests. Or they can just have their cases tossed for not doing their job the way the law requires.'
Reporting crime is not Jackson's problem. Anyone with any sense knows that.
But I completely understand that calling someone names and using the word "liberal" as if it should carry a negative connotation is much more fun than actually doing something.
Stay on the sidelines where you belong.
He lives off of Hanging Moss. Not a gated community.
Priester was citing a dissenting opinion. Read the case. Opinion was issued in April.
I think it is appropriate they referred it to a committee before voting to enact it. It is logical to think there is at least the potential for some abuse, so why not have a committee check it out before you vote on it? If there is no evidence of abuse in cities that have used it, then have the committee report that to the council and then vote on it. Gathering information before you vote on something is not a bad thing.
Priester was grandstanding, and did not do a very good job at it. It proves he's young and still has a lot to learn. You don't grandstand against curtailing crime, in a city ripe with crime. Rookie move. Just lost a lot of credibility.
There has, for DECADES, been a criminal FOOD CHAIN/power structure in place in Jackson. It is this secret power structure which has caused the rampant crime, and the resulting despair and cynicism among the citizenry. The despair and cynicism drove people out of the city (and plenty of those fleeing moved to Montana or Kansas or Seattle, instead of just to Madison or Brandon or Pearl).
That 'Food Chain' protects its own. The Food Chain wants to be able to silence anyone making trouble for anyone within its hierarchy. Once you grasp that concept, it is no longer difficult to understand why nothing is done about the drug dealer next door - despite the fact that plenty of people have called to report him.
If that drug dealer is part of the Food Chain - sending money to the sharks at the top of the power structure, then he and his customers and the fences to whom his customers go with stolen goods... they can all pretty-much operate with impunity.
So, if I were a top level predator within that food chain, I would be very much against anonymous tips. They make it too difficult to silence the complainers.
Not that I'm accusing anyone in particular, you understand...
Montana???
4:30 P.M. is absolutely spot on with the food chain description.Thank You.It is also a cultural thing,and the higher-up officials,ect. know they can be murdered quite easily
I understand the food chain completely. I think it's ridiculous and unprofessional that some woman is laughing seeming to support Priester's comments (in the beginning of the audio). Do they think this crime is funny? People are getting killed and mostly young black males. As long it has not happened to 'us' we seem to think it's not a crime. But just wait, it's slowly moving up the road to Madison County - that's probably why many white folks are moving towards Northwest Madison County area to get away from the crime. The old Madison County neighborhoods are starting to fill with crime, good families (white and black) are moving out and the old neighborhoods are filling with less than acceptable families with crime ridden backgrounds. So I can see where this is going....it will eventually move to Madison city in the next 5 years or so I believe. How many of you now go to Northpark or the movie theater by Northpark anymore (in the last 10 yrs? Not many. and why? Because we are scared of the crime. We used to shop at Metro and Northpark - but not anymore because of the crime that has moved to these areas. And I am embarrassed to say this (because I did not used to believe this) but when apartment complexes jump on board with govt funding for low income families, it breeds crime. That's the reason Madison NEVER needs to get apartments - EVER! As long as Mayor Mary stays in office, I don't believe this will ever happen. When it does say good-bye to the old Madison then hello to Flora and Pocahontes area -- i.e., if you can afford it. I could buy land in Flora in the 90's for $500-600 an acre - back then no one 'wanted' to live in Flora but now it's well, not affordable unless you want to live in debt the rest of your life.
Kudos to Yarber... this mayor has moved fast with ideas since he's been in office.
I don't even like it when you are in a car accident and the other person has access to all of your information. In my opinion, only the insurance company should maintain this information. In a lawsuit, the other person does not need your tel # or your home address to call and harass you or your address as sometimes things can get very ugly. In my opinion, the police & insurance need to keep personal data private. Even this can cause problems. And what's the deal with this new company (3rd party in Canada) retaining all police tickets in their database (they have all our info on file)? Why in the hell did we get a 3rd party out of the country to maintain this database nationwide for police - there's not a U.S. company that can do this? And we have to pay $25 to get a copy of a ticket? What politician was in on this deal?
To unapproved comment. On it. Send me email if you like. Already turned it in.
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