You’ve got jail!
The NYPD will officially launch tomorrow a crime-fighting Web site that allows good Samaritans to submit “e-tips” and even photos and videos of crimes directly to police.
Tipsters can go to nypdcrimestoppers.com, which is already up and running, and click on the Submit Internet Tips icon. They are prompted to fill out a questionnaire and upload any images they might want to send.
The site is secure and anonymous, the NYPD says. It is available in five languages.
Those who submit e-mail tips receive an identification number that can be used to track the case via the Crimestoppers hot line at (800) 577-TIPS.
The NYPD began accepting anonymous cellphone photo and text-message tips in September. Since that program started, the department has received 13 texts, four photos and one video tip.
One cellphone picture led to an arrest of a hit-and-run who clipped a bicyclist near the Brooklyn Navy Yards on Sept. 10.
A quick-thinking eyewitness had snapped a shot of the fleeing driver’s license plate and forwarded it to the NYPD.
Less than two weeks later, 88th Precinct detectives busted the driver, Moises Rosa, 27, and charged him with reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident with injuries and falsely reporting an incident.
“We are taking advantage of the technology,” NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.
The NYPD is also working to directly transmit videos and pictures to cops carrying hand-held devices in the vicinity of a crime. But that program is in its nascent stages.
The department currently deploys eight Real Time Crime Center vans, which allow responding cops to view images as well as listen to 911 calls. Police inside those vehicles can also check a comprehensive list of criminals.
The souped-up vans are now sent to every major crime, Browne said.
But the majority of tips are still phoned in.
“Over the past 25 years, Crimestoppers has assisted the New York City Police Department in solving more than 2,500 violent crimes, including over 1,000 homicides,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
Tips that lead to an arrest or indictment are eligible for a reward of up to $2,000, paid for by the New York City Police Foundation.