Anonymous tip lines

[IshieVonDyson]

There have been a handful of times I’ve wanted to use the anonymous crime reporting hotline, but I’ve never really known how it works. My family never trusted it, especially in this day and age when everything and everyone can be tracked. So I was just wondering if anyone could explain it to me like I’m five, how exactly does the anonymity aspect work?

 

[JoanMcWench]

Well, they personally know who you are when they receive the telephone call. I suppose that's in order to maintain the safety of the caller if something were to occur & protect themselves from prank calls. However, they don't use your information when filing the report or when the criminal/suspect is detained.

 

[IshieVonDyson]

Ah, that’s more or less what I’d been thinking. I was mostly curious because I currently live in a neighborhood where it wouldn’t be all that difficult to figure out who might be calling a tip line. Pretty remote, not too many people, so retaliation is a slight factor. I suppose I might not find out about that until after the fact, but this info makes it more reassuring anyway.

 

[Gabe]

You could do it online and go to an internet cafe and send the email. I did that once for MI5 when I had a tip off I knew about, but for legal reasons I couldn't say anything as I was still under a confidential contract at the time.

Otherwise you can post an anonymous note. There are lots of ways without having to reveal your identity.

 

[IshieVonDyson]

Hadn’t thought of doing it online. It seems like a potentially viable route to take. It’s always good to know there are safe ways to go about it, I’ll have to keep this all in mind should another situation arise.

 

[lushlala]

I too would be a bit wary because of the risk of retribution if found out. So the likely route I'd go would be the anonymous online option. Although I doubt I'd ever truly relax, because anything is traceable these days. Maybe I watch too many crime TV programs LOL I'm just glad that so far I've never had reason to tip off the police about any sort of crime!

 

[missbishi]

I believe that these lines are answered by a live operator and are recorded so I'd always be reluctant to use one. I'd probably send an anonymous note instead as I would be very concerned about retribution if I were to "grass".

 

[Patrick]

I've not used it before, but I think that there's really only a false sense of anonymity. It's pretty easy to track people down based on their calls (operators have to track down on prank callers after all to cut down on abuse)

 

[IrishHeather]

The ones that really get me are the ones that say claim a big reward if your information leads to an arrest, how do you stay anonyms if they are giving you a check....sigh.

 

[missbishi]

The ones that really get me are the ones that say claim a big reward if your information leads to an arrest, how do you stay anonyms if they are giving you a check....sigh.

I've always wondered about that too. You'd have to take the check to the bank and it woul dhave the name of the police detartment on it. The teller could easily put two and two together and work out what has happened!

 

[IshieVonDyson]

Our program pays cash rewards as far as I know. Most of them are pretty low amounts, but for the bigger crime tip-offs I’d definitely have to trust my bank teller! Or deposit in smaller intervals… almost raises more questions than it answers, now that I think about it.

 

[DancingLady]

If you are really concerned about your anonymity, you might want to call from another location besides your own home. If the reason you would be found is because so few people could have seen, then it probably won't make any difference if your report is anonymous or not.

 

[Sunflogun]

I think that these anonymous lines could work both ways. One, they can lead more people to call and report anonymously crimes, but at the same time how many people would call reporting things that are not true just because they can? So I am divided here.

 

[katherine25]

I have never heard of an anonymous tips line but if there is one Id love to know about it. There are so many times I have had to or wanted to call police and I am always scared to report something thinking if my name gets involved even as a bystander the perpetrator would find out my information and try to get revenge on me. Its a horrible feeling to have to contemplate putting yourself at risk to help another and I don't think people should feel scared to help someone else so this is a great idea!

 

[Gabe]

There's nothing to stop anyone mailing an anonymous letter or making a call from a payphone. These methods have been used for centuries and many things have been avoided or criminals caught because of this. It's about your own integrity, if you know something you guilt may eat away at you.

I set up an email account and emailed a tip off to a company that had a security breach. They replied and thanked me and I shut down the email account afterwards.