New campaign to focus on anonymous tip line
Boston police have a fresh ad campaign aimed at boosting its crime-fighting hot line, reaching out to residents who are fed up with neighborhood violence and want to help out by calling police with anonymous tips.
Cops first rolled out the text-a-tip program in 2007 with the help of advertising firm Hill Holiday and AT&T. The program was aimed at giving young people, whose age group is often the target of violence, a chance to tell police what they know without revealing who they are, or who they are talking to.
Since 2007, cops said they’ve received more than 4,000 text message tips that have helped solve crimes and saved lives, but the numbers are dwindling, so police are rolling out the new campaign to remind residents to use the text-a-tip number whenever they have information to pass on.
“This is a very effective way . . . to help,” said Boston police Commissioner Edward F. Davis. “The hopes are we’ll see a large number of people texting and calling in to the Edward F. Davis Crimestopper program.”
The new campaign will be unveiled by Mayor Thomas M. Menino today and focuses on the anonymity of text-a-tip in ads that will be featured in 50 bus shelters, 200 MBTA transit cars, on the JumboTron at Fenway Park [map] and in 5,000 brochures that police will hand out in violence-plagued neighborhoods.
“We want to reach a wider audience,” Davis said.
Anyone with information can call (800) 494-TIPS or text-message “tips” to CRIME (27463).
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1351916
