East Providence Police Launch New Public Safety App

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI — The East Providence Police Department created a new way to help residents stay safe in the event of crimes.

Police worked with tip411 to develop a phone app that allows residents to give anonymous tips to officers, find information and view alerts.

Thanks to funding from the East Bay Regional Coalition, East Providence Prevention Coalition, and the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals, the East Providence PD app is available for download for free via the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, or by visiting the East Providence Police Department website.

"Our goal is to make it easy for the people of East Providence to communicate with our department, and, by working together, continue to make East Providence an exceptional place to live, work and visit," Police Chief Christopher Francesconi said in a statement. "With our new tip411 app, we have added another way for the community to access our department so that we may respond to any concerns and continue to keep our community safe."

Police said the app and tip411 text-a-tip system is 100 percent anonymous. The technology removes all identifying information before police see the tips. In this way, the new East Providence PD app enables the public to share an anonymous tip with police and lets officers respond back to create an anonymous two-way conversation.

Residents in East Providence without a smartphone can share information with police by sending an anonymous text tip via their cell phone to police by texting the keyword EPPOLICE and sending their message/tip to 847411 (tip411).