Orlando, Fla. — Reporting an anonymous crime tip in Florida is now as easy as dialing four numbers.
A first of its kind in the nation, anyone in Florida can now report tips about a crime anonymously by dialing **TIPS (that’s **8477).
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody says this will replace the 27 regional Crime Stoppers phone numbers with one easy to remember sequence.
“The statewide program, **TIPS, allows citizens to anonymously report crime and collect rewards for tips that lead to an arrest," Moody says in a release.
The announcement was made Thursday by the Attorney General and the Florida Association of Crime Stoppers.
With these advances to these already successful programs, we hope even more citizens will help solve cases, stop crime and build a Stronger, Safer Florida.”
Callers using this new number will be routed to their local Crime Stoppers line and a smartphone application download link will automatically be sent to the caller’s phone.
The free app, called P3 Tips, is another way to send anonymous tips with the option of including photographs.
According to the Attorney General, the Crime Stoppers program has been around for 40 years.
In the last year, Crime Stoppers received more than 59,000 citizen tips, which led to more than 2,700 arrests.
To report tips anonymously about unsolved crimes, citizens can simply dial **TIPS.
For emergencies, dial 911.