The Crime Stoppers number, 615-74-CRIME is one that has been cemented in the brain of many people in Nashville. For 35 years, Nashville Crime Stoppers has been collecting anonymous tips, leading to more than 7,000 arrests, and paying out more than $500,000 to tipsters.
The anonymous crime tip organization has joined the digital age by accepting anonymous tips both online and through a new smartphone app.
“Our mission statement is, 'connecting the public with local law enforcement,' and this gives an even better way to do it, because everybody’s on their cell phones," Liz Parrott, chair of Nashville Crime Stoppers, said.
The new forms of submitting a tip remain anonymous with special encryptions set in place to keep the tips anonymous, but in addition to providing more ways to receive tips, the new methods of submitting tips also allow the tipsters to submit attachments, such as photos, videos, or audio files, which could be a huge help to investigating officers.
“They can use that video to see exactly what happened, get an idea of what the suspect looks like or what actually happened, and then they can use that to get leads and go and find the perpetrator from that," Parrott explained.
The goal of Nashville Crime Stoppers is not just to help police arrest people for crimes, but to help make neighborhoods safer, and the anonymity of the tips are a big part of keeping individuals safe.
“We allow people to send in tips whereas they might be terrified to do it or worried that they’ll be labeled a snitch or retaliation," Parrott said. "Crime Stoppers allows everyone to do it anonymously and get that out there to help protect your neighborhood and make it safer.”
To submit a tip online or to download the P3 Nashville Crime Stoppers app, you can visit the Nashville Crime Stoppers website.
