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Ask Us: How Do You Anonymously Report A Crime To The Escambia Sheriff’s Office?
January 24, 2011
How do you anonymously report a suspected crime to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office? That’s a question a NorthEscambia.com reader asked us recently.
We posed the question to Melissa Aiken Rawson, public affairs coordinator for the Sheriff’s Office. The complete question and her answer are below.
Do you have a question you would like NorthEscambia.com to answer? Email it news@northescambia.com
Q. I support Sheriff Morgan’s initiative to improve community based intel of criminal activity, however, there seems to be no mechanism to report (or perhaps it’s well hidden) the presence of drug activity, or even the presence of a crack house or meth lab without filing a criminal complaint and then identifying yourself to the criminals for future retribution. I am puzzled by the lack of a simple avenue to report possible crimes within our own community. Am I missing something here? I’ve looked at the ESCO website and there seems no way to work this issue out there.
A. I will work on making something more prominent, but we receive numerous complaints daily through our website’s contact us page reporting the presence of criminal activity. Although it asks for an email address, the form submits without one (however if you do not include one- you will not receive an email back stating we received your complaint)
People who want to provide tips about criminal activity can always call Crimestoppers to report such crimes and remain anonymous. Last night was the first night of the Desk to Road program here at the Sheriff’s Office and groups of officers were out following up on Crimestoppers tips and serving warrants, so I can assure you that these tips are taken very seriously and are utilized. Another way that people can report crimes is by contacting dispatch at 850-436-9620. If the caller wants to remain anonymous, they can request so and the dispatcher will omit a complainant’s name and inform the officer that the caller wanted “no contact”. This prevents the officers from coming to your house and identifying you as the person who called in the complaint.
What the public doesn’t realize is that we can’t simply do a search warrant and make arrests based on anonymous complaints. In the case of Narcotics Operations, these cases could take months of surveillance and undercover operations to bring about enough for a search warrant or arrest warrant. We want the community to get involved and report these types of crimes, but they also need to understand that these complaints are not just getting filed away and it could take months before any results are seen.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Melissa Aiken Rawson
Public Affairs Coordinator
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office
Comments
28 Responses to “Ask Us: How Do You Anonymously Report A Crime To The Escambia Sheriff’s Office?”
Whats it matter who knows what? If somebodys dealing or manufacturing dope in my neighborhood, I wouldn’t give a dam if they knew I turned them in or not! People need to do whats moraly right for not only themselves but the elderly and children in their neighborhood. Too often people give the bad guys to much credit and power,
To: Just An Old Soldier
You hit the nail on the head,Sir. SALUTE!
They say snitches get stitches….people are scared, I don’t blame them. Nothing is perfect, their will be false accusations just like there are now. But it would free a lot of people to tell what they do know.
I didn’t care for the statement ‘ATTEMPT TO DEVELOP’ , but I guess if you are not in the wrong what difference does it make. I am a firm believer in ‘picking your battles, so you don’t lose the WAR’.
Whoopie…. you make me sad … how are you gonna feel when something happens to your loved ones because someone else views crime the same way you do. Get a job, they will give you money every week.
I would never accept money for doing the right thing. And the right thing to do is to make our neighborhoods safe.
God bless our Law Enforcement Officers and give them the tools they need to fight crime.
yep, it’s funny to read the thoughts of those who would refuse to make their homes safer places unless their monetary reward for doing so is higher
Thanks, Deputy for your duty to our county.
I intend to give any information I can to help reduce criminal activity in our neighborhoods. It’s time these thugs realized that honest citizens won’t tolerate idiotic and illegal behavior in our neighborhoods.
Get for real people you can’t do this anonymously.
which is related to the reason a photograph can be entered into evidence without the camera being considered the accuser
David still appreciative and admiring
In response to: barrineau on January 25th, 2011 8:12 am
“What happens to the right to meet your accuser ?”
If your tip leads a deputy to the suspicious person or area, and the deputy develops probable cause, the DEPUTY is the accuser.
What happens to the right to meet your accuser ?
NONE on January 24th, 2011 3:02 pm
i dont know why they don’t run a check on everyone in the north escambia areas drivers license. If there are warrants or such on anyone in the area, the drivers license should be picked up and they can be alerted. What if someone wanted to just be mean and report someone for a crime and they didn’t do anything…this could lead to embarrassement and /or job loss etc
I would be inclined to to say that voilates the 4th admendment.
/sorry about spelling. On my iphone, and no coffee yet…
PolythenePam on January 24th, 2011 10:50 am
Is it anonymous if you don’t add your e-mail address but they have your IP address? It only takes a little work to figure out where a submittal came from I would think, not really sure though. And as far as phone calls , if you call from a cell phone not only will they know who you are but they can tell where you are. Land lines are a dead give away. Best bet if you are really paranoid about speaking out aganst crime is stick to good old fashioned snail mail.
Just sayin”……….
Unless you work for the ISP getting an IP adress will only get you so far. Most of the time your address will change, depending on your provider.
Also, with an IP address I can only see you general area, like the pan handle. If somebody wanted your street address they would have to have the IP address and time submitted. Then the ISP could see who thay one was givin at that time. But they will need a warrent to get that from your provider.
The media (not you william) like to make it sound so easy to find you with IP address’s. Also, im sure most crack heads would not know how to do a trace on an IP address.
And if you are worried about the email part of it, get a throw away yahoo or gmail account with no personal info attaches to it. I have one that I use for when sites want my email address to sign up for stuff. That way you dont get killed with spam and cant keep your personal email private.
Deputy Sheriff gave good, useful advice. Commendable use of a communication tool to make the world a bit safer.
David admiring the admirable.
LOL to “NONE” – If you are innocent there is no embarassment, and if you lose your job even though innocent, there was probably a lot more involved than a “mean” call.
i dont know why they don’t run a check on everyone in the north escambia areas drivers license. If there are warrants or such on anyone in the area, the drivers license should be picked up and they can be alerted. What if someone wanted to just be mean and report someone for a crime and they didn’t do anything…this could lead to embarrassement and /or job loss etc
Thanks for following up on the reader’s question, William! that’s awesome!
and thanks for the info Deputy Sheriff. I was recently encouraged to call the SO about a vagrant lingering around my home, but felt too much like it would be dismissed. I’m grateful for your time to respond and your service on the streets.
I think it would be a great idea to have a presentation in the Century/Bratt/Walnut Hill area. There are a few different places to have meetings such as this……church, community centers, schools, etc.
There are a lot of people in our communities that have no idea what to look out for…..this would definately be beneficial.
i appreciate william announcing in NORTHESCAMBIA about the recent drug (primarily meth) awareness program that was sponsored by the cottage hill baptist church and several very concerned cantonment citizens 2 fridays ago…it was GREAT!!..we had 2 fantastic narcotic investigators do the extremely informative slide show presentation on all aspects related to methamphetamines…i learned so much that nite….didnt know that escambia county currently leads THE ENTIRE STATE in the number of meth lab busts…that was astonishing!!…after the program(and learning what to look for), we were strongly encouraged to report any suspected narcotic activity that we encounter directly to them…we even have those investigators cell phone numbers, as well as the number for their sgt quinata….im pretty sure that there is going to be a second meth presentation within the near future, at the same church….btw, the host church members were so gracious that nite, as they provided a wonderful array of delicious finger foods, tasty deserts and good hot coffee for the attendees…i would highy encourage all members of our community to try and make it to the next presentation that will be coming up soon…maybe william will be able to come and cover the next presentation and include it as a follow-up story to an extremely important issue that directly affects our community.
The quickest way to have your tip investigated is to call ECSO dispatch at 436-9620. As Ms Rawson stated, if you wish to remain anonymous, just say so. You are being overly paranoid if you think that the SO is “tracking” you via your phone number. Yes, they know where you are calling from, but they are not going to come and force you to file a complaint or go to court.
I respond to anonymous tips frequently. One possible reason that “nothing ever gets done” on the tips is because they are too vague. If you call and say, “they are selling drugs near Elm and 2nd street”, we don’t have much to work with. As you can imagine, when I roll up in a marked patrol car, they are already gone. Give as much detail as possible.
For example, “a white male wearing a red hoodie and shorts just sold drugs to a guy in a blue Buick with big rims. The Buick left and drove north towards Muscogee. It had dark tint and only one headlight”. That gives us MUCH more to work with. Now, as I am heading to the call and I see the Buick you described, I can stop it and attempt to develop probable cause to search it.
If I find the dope, they go to jail. I don’t need your name, and you don’t go to court.
Is it anonymous if you don’t add your e-mail address but they have your IP address? It only takes a little work to figure out where a submittal came from I would think, not really sure though. And as far as phone calls , if you call from a cell phone not only will they know who you are but they can tell where you are. Land lines are a dead give away. Best bet if you are really paranoid about speaking out aganst crime is stick to good old fashioned snail mail.
Just sayin”……….
I am constantly disappointed in people….worshiping the almighty dollar.
If there was a way to give a ‘tip’ anonymously, I would like to think that more people would help clean up our communities….but, after reading comments here, as well as listening to some of the younger generation talk these days…..
where are we going to wind up in the years to come?
Great info, William!
I’m glad to see that the ECSO is deliberate in their actions and not prone to searches based soley on “anonymous” information protecting 4th Amendment Rights.
The only way LEOs can get leads is from the community, and the only way the community will feel safe from the drug thugs is to be able to provide info without exposing themselves to a greater risk.
You report criminal activity and suspected criminals because you are a good citizen and would like the criminals off of the streets not because of a get rich quick reward. Money should’nt be the motivater of the people, doing the right thing for your community should. I have called them on a few occasions and told them if they catch the person to just keep the money.
Whoopie,
Your comment has really set me off this morning and it usually takes quite a lot to do that. You stated yourself that you were scared but you would never call Crimestoppers again because all you got was $100. So, your personally safety in knowing this person was apprehended wasn’t reward enough? Simply doing the right thing wasn’t reward enough? Are you serious? Mentality like yours is what is wrong with the world today. I guess if you saw a crime committed and there was no reward, you would just keep your mouth shut. What if your child or someone you love is kidnapped and you don’t have the money to offer a reward if they are located? Do you have any idea how many children would not be with their parents today if it were not for innocent bystanders who witnessed something and did the right thing? Pitiful. Just pitiful. Lesson for today, if we ALL tried to do the right thing without thought of what is in it for me, the world would be a much better place to live. Think about it, Whoopie, next time you are faced with such a situation. I sincerely hope you will think about doing the right thing without worrying about how much of a reward you will receive. I also hope your comment on here will not deter anyone from reporting a crime, anonymously or not, because all they will get is $100. I wouldn’t even want the $100. Just knowing I helped in some small way is enough of a reward for me.
well i called them one time and tip them off about a guy who robbed a bank…..Then escaped fom the esacambia county jail…They went and picked him up….and all i got was $100 whoopie this guy was dangerous it wasnt worth my time helping them……. i was scared……….Never again!!! this was years ago he was the only one to ever escaped from escambia county jail….$100 is why people dont get involed
Crimestoppers is a joke! I have called them on 2 separate occasions. The first time they just blew me off. I had recognized someone on a survelliance video. The second time, they would not return my call. What good are they?! I’ll never call them again, no matter what information I have or could contribute!
not I, could be prank call or solely for harassment, might be fun, though.
David who wouldn’t do it,
but knowing those who would
I wonder how many of you think it would be a great idea for ECSO or other law enforcement to be able to obtain a search warrant based on anonymous “tips”.
Think before you answer.