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Clay County offers anonymous citizens’ hot line
By Natalie Shelton
Maj. Jim Simpson of the Liberty Police Department can’t quite understand why someone would have stolen a fountain aerator system out of the middle of a pond at the Fountain Bluff Sports Complex six weeks ago.
But he’s at least glad the local police department has an anonymous hot line system in place called WeTip to help catch perpetrators such as the ones at Fountain Bluff. And he also says he’s excited the WeTip anonymous tip program has recently been made available to all residents in Clay County, an initiative announced at a news conference last week.
“We’re glad to offer this as a way for citizens to help fight crime and fraud in Clay County and its communities,” Clay County Eastern Commissioner Craig Porter said at the news conference.
WeTip is available to Clay County through MARCIT, a risk pool of public entities to which Clay County belongs. WeTip is a national nonprofit organization.
Porter said residents can call 1-800-78-CRIME to report anonymously criminal and fraudulent acts. When someone calls WeTip, an operator first says, “This is the WeTip hot line; please do not give your name.”
Operators provide a case number to the tipster, who can then use that number to call back with more information or to check on the status of the investigation.
The program offers a cash reward of up to $1,000 for an arrest and conviction if the caller wants to participate in the reward program; the tipster is assigned a fictitious code name, and then the reward is paid at a local post office chosen by the tipster, who gives the code name provided.
The hot line should not be used for a crime in progress; instead, 911 is the best course of action, according to a news release. Like 911, the hot line is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Terry Norwood, MARCIT’s president and CEO, said the WeTip hot line has been especially helpful in dealing with the multitude of copper thefts in the area, especially at construction sites, and also in public parks and recreation areas where vandalism is prevalent.
Staff writer Natalie Shelton can be reached at 781-4941 or nshelton@npgco.com.
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But he’s at least glad the local police department has an anonymous hot line system in place called WeTip to help catch perpetrators such as the ones at Fountain Bluff. And he also says he’s excited the WeTip anonymous tip program has recently been made available to all residents in Clay County, an initiative announced at a news conference last week.
“We’re glad to offer this as a way for citizens to help fight crime and fraud in Clay County and its communities,” Clay County Eastern Commissioner Craig Porter said at the news conference.
WeTip is available to Clay County through MARCIT, a risk pool of public entities to which Clay County belongs. WeTip is a national nonprofit organization.
Porter said residents can call 1-800-78-CRIME to report anonymously criminal and fraudulent acts. When someone calls WeTip, an operator first says, “This is the WeTip hot line; please do not give your name.”
Operators provide a case number to the tipster, who can then use that number to call back with more information or to check on the status of the investigation.
The program offers a cash reward of up to $1,000 for an arrest and conviction if the caller wants to participate in the reward program; the tipster is assigned a fictitious code name, and then the reward is paid at a local post office chosen by the tipster, who gives the code name provided.
The hot line should not be used for a crime in progress; instead, 911 is the best course of action, according to a news release. Like 911, the hot line is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Terry Norwood, MARCIT’s president and CEO, said the WeTip hot line has been especially helpful in dealing with the multitude of copper thefts in the area, especially at construction sites, and also in public parks and recreation areas where vandalism is prevalent.
Staff writer Natalie Shelton can be reached at 781-4941 or nshelton@npgco.com.