Feature Focus: The Proactive Submit Tip Feature

In this Feature Focus, we’ll cover the all-important, proactive reporting platform known as Submit Tip. The Submit Tip feature is perhaps the most popular of all Mobile Safety App features and the name can be customized to fit your institution’s branding or particular usage (Anonymous Tip, Submit Report, iReport, etc.).

Submit Tip allows users to send tips about safety concerns, suspicious activity, maintenance, or general non-emergency information. When submitting a tip, the user’s selected tip category will determine where the tip is received. For instance, a college student who submits a tip about a broken hallway light in their dorm can have their tip sent directly to the maintenance department… instead of wasting the safety department’s time with a tip they can’t act on properly.

Even more, the tip submitter can also send photo and video attachments to support their tip and the tip submitter can do all of this anonymously, without ever revealing their identity, phone number or any other personal information.

Anonymous sending greatly increases usage

The ability to send tips anonymously is a major factor in why this feature is so popular. There are definitely cases, especially in certain industries, where submitting a tip with your personal information may be more helpful… but in most scenarios a tip submitter does not want to reveal their identity just to provide a little helpful information. This is particularly the case for students, who often feel pressured to fit in with their peers and don’t want to risk their name being associated with information given to police or other authority figures.

The Submit Tip feature also contains 2-way chat potential. After a tip is submitted, the recipient of the tip can (through the 911Cellular Portal) engage in a chat to gather more information… or simply to provide the tip submitter with a ‘Thanks for the tip!’-esque response to confirm that the tip has been received. This chat can be started even if the tip submitter is anonymous!

Proactive ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign possibilities

From the institution’s side, using the 911Cellular Portal to set-up a ‘See Something Say Something’ call-to-action campaign can further bolster the proactive nature of the Submit Tip feature. In this scenario, an institution can automatically activate the campaign with a few clicks, which will begin sending push notifications to a small percentage of their Mobile Safety App users each day, slowly reaching out to the entire community. This will encourage community members to take notice of their surroundings and to use the Submit Tip feature if they see anything that warrants it!

How the Submit Tip feature helped put a criminal behind bars

Shortly after an armed robbery on Southern University’s campus, one suspect admitted to a student that he was involved. The student then sent a tip to authorities using the Submit Tip feature, quickly resulting in the arrest of the suspect. The suspect was booked for armed robbery after threatening a man at gunpoint for some change and hitting him on the side of the head with the gun before escaping.

News article detailing the above event.

For more information on how the Submit Tip feature and Mobile Safety App can help your community stay safe, visit our website at 911cellular.com