Thanks to developing technology, law officers in more than a dozen Iowa cities and two counties can now receive anonymous tips about crimes — via text message. Clinton Police Captain Randy Meier says the service is being handled by a private company and those who send in text tips will not be identified.

“If you get a text message from somebody, you’ll know where it comes from,” Captain Meier says. “This technology prevents us from ever learning how that originates.” He says an officer can respond to the tipster and have a dialog while that person will remain anonymous. Meier stresses, it’s not for emergencies.

“It’s not a substitute for 911,” Meier says. “It’s not a substitute for calling the police to report a crime. It’s not monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” The website says about 600 law enforcement agencies are signed up for the program, including 15 in Iowa.

They are: Ashton, Boone, Boone County, Burlington, Clinton, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Harris, Melvin, Ocheyedan, Orange City, Sibley, Sioux City, Spencer and Sioux County. Tips can also be submitted online.

For more information, visit: “www.tipsubmit.com“.

By Dave Vickers, KROS, Clinton