The Bloomington Police Department has implemented a new anonymous tip line for residents to share information on local crimes.
Tip411 is a service that allows people with information on a crime to send it in a text message, without sharing the phone number or identity of whoever sent it to police.
Bloomington police public information officer Brandt Parsley said implementing the technology was a “no brainer.”
“One of chief (Jamal) Simington’s missions is we want to continue to progress with new technologies that become available,” Parsley said.
Simington recently expressed concern that some members of the public may feel reluctant to report valuable information to police, perhaps out of fear of retaliation. He referred to the February 2022 killing of Dylan Meserole, 20, that remains unsolved.
The goal of the tip line, Parsley said, is “...with a little more anonymity, we’ll get a little better cooperation during serious crimes and be able to serve the community better from getting better tips and information.”
Tip411 can be accessed anytime by texting BPDTIPS followed by the information to 847411. A Bloomington police officer will respond as time allows.
Tips also can be submitted on the department’s page on the city of Bloomington website.
