Police: Tip Hotline Now In Service

Cinnaminson is now the first town in Burlington County to utilize the , and in some cases, hefty rewards.

WeTip officials, CEO Susan Aguilar and National Director Sue Mandell, trained members of the  Wednesday on the program and its effectiveness.

“When there is anonymity,” Aguilar said, “people are not afraid of putting information out there.”

In the nearly 40 years WeTip has been in existence, not one caller has been identified.

Line operators stand by 24/7 and gather information from callers, however big or small the tip is, when they call 1-800-78-CRIME. A crime report is written up by the operator and sent to the police department within 24 hours of the tip, or immediately if it’s life threatening.

Nearly every school district in the state of New Jersey—Cinnaminson included—utilizes the system, and our own district benefited from an anonymous call a couple of years ago when there was a bomb threat, said Cinnaminson Police Officer Paul Seymour, former school resource officer.

taught at the Burlington County Institute of Technology, where WeTip was implemented, and one of his first duties after taking on his new position in Cinnaminson was to start the program here.

“We really pushed it out to the kids there,” King said. “I asked the detectives here first and they loved it. It’s very, very good for the community. There is no downside to this program.”

The two hurdles King and the department will have to overcome are how to pay for the program and how to let residents know about it.

The cost of the program is minimal—about $2,000 yearly for the township. King said he has it in the police budget this year and will look for alternate ways to fund the program in subsequent years.

And letting residents know about the program is already starting. was immediately working on a design for decals on all the police cars and municipal vehicles in the township.

Literature, posters, bumper stickers and even metal signage for township parks will be made available.

“And, the police department has 100 percent commitment from ,” said Committeeman John Rooney, liaison to the police department, who sat in on the training session.

Also sitting in was Cinnaminson Fire Chief Bill Kramer, Det. Sgt. William Covert and others.

“We have a really good feeling about this,” Kramer said. “We are going to make sure we have a good partnership.”

King said he’s already gone to several community organizations in town—like —to tout the program.

The WeTip hotline can be called immediately, by dialing 1-800-78-CRIME. The first thing an operator says is to remind called not to identify themselves. The operators then ask a series of questions to properly fill out the report for the police department.

Tipsters are still encouraged to call the police department with any information but can call the toll-free WeTip number if they wish to maintain their identities.

If a reward is requested, and offered after deemed helpful, callers collect the money—tax-free—in a completely anonymous way.

Online submissions can be filled out and a QR code is available for smartphones.

For more information on WeTip, visit wetip.com.