Students, faculty and staff at the University of Miami have a new way to help campus police eliminate campus crime. It takes only seconds, promises anonymity, pays cash rewards and uses a highly appealing medium to today’s busy students and administrators, text messaging.
The University of Miami community can now anonymously call, click or text any information they have on campus crimes to UM Police through Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers.
Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers is an organization dedicated to assisting law enforcement in solving crimes by providing an anonymous means for individuals with knowledge of crimes to share their information with police and become eligible for a reward.
Anonymity is a critical aspect of the program, and the reporting systems have been specifically designed to assure identities are never revealed. Rewards are paid to individuals who provide information that leads to the filing of criminal charges against offenders and the capture of fugitives; a confidential tip number is issued at the time of reporting for anonymous reward tracking.
“The University of Miami Police Department’s new partnership with Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers sends a distinct message that crime on campus is not tolerated by the University community,” said John Pepper of UMPD.
Currently operating over 55 distinct Crime Prevention Programs, UM Police closely follow a community oriented policing model of law enforcement that focuses on educating and empowering the community to directly work with police in keeping the campus safe. The Crime Stoppers partnership program will likely engage even more students, faculty and staff in campus safety efforts.
Students, faculty, staff and anyone else with information on crimes on campus can anonymously submit their tip to UM Police through Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers through one of three ways:
- Via Phone: call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477).
- Via Internet: go to www.crimestoppersmiami.com and click on the “Give A Tip” icon.
- Via TXT Tipping (Text Message): send a text to 274637 (crimes) and precede your crime tip with “tips139.” Detailed directions and additional information on Text Tipping is available through the UMPD website at www.miami.edu/police
Emergencies and crime against persons in progress should still be reported immediately to police by calling 911. After calling 911, additional information concerning the crime can be reported to Crime Stoppers. Further information on the new partnership between UM Police and Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers is available online at www.miami.edu/police
For additional information, click here.
BICSI April 2009 press release.
