Smartphone app has led to arrests in two homicide cases
We recently checked up on some news around the country about the MyPD app and came across this news story from Saginaw, Michigan.
It is amazing to see how different communities use their My Police Department (MyPD) app. We have heard of commendations coming in to agencies in the Boston area after the Boston bombings and now we have seen how citizens will utilize apps to send important information in to the police.
Here is a portion of the story from MLive.com
SAGINAW, MI — Since the Saginaw Police Department began urging citizens to send tips through a smartphone app about a month ago, the
“The Saginaw Police Department has released an app for multiple cell phone providers, through My Police Department, that connects citizens to information from the department.”
department has received tips including two that led to arrests in recent Saginaw homicides.
“It’s helpful,” Detective Sgt. Reggie Williams said about the tips received through the app and by other means.
“Some of the information that comes in is very detailed, other tips are kind of vague,” he said. “The detailed information is the stuff we can move on. The more information they give, the better.”
Sometimes, he said, tips come in a day or so after detectives have learned the information, and “it kind of validates or confirms what the detectives already found out, which is good,” Williams said.
The tips can help detectives determine “how and where” something happened and have been helpful in other investigations, too, he said.
“We get a lot of tips on drug houses and blighted homes,” Williams said, noting people can choose to give a name and contact information or may remain anonymous.