Orange City, Iowa — A program that started almost ten years ago for the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office is still going strong, with one minor change.
The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office launched its anonymous Text-a-Tip program in the spring of 2010. At that time they encouraged everyone to report information about any illegal activity, such as unsolved cases, vandalism, theft, the sale and distribution of drugs or information about crimes that are being planned in the community or schools.
Sheriff Dan Altena said at that time, “The ability for any citizen who owns a mobile phone or computer to assist in crime solving is of great importance to us and we are excited to play such a pivotal role in the transmission of these crime-fighting tips.” He said there was no doubt that the program would dramatically increase their law enforcement capabilities.
The Text-a-Tip program had users send their tips via text to a “shortcode”. That’s a short number that users dial in the place where the text recipient’s phone number would normally go. That’s still the way it works, but instead of partnering with Anderson Software, officials tell us that they are now using Nixle for this service. The sheriff’s office also sends out alerts via Nixle to let people know about accidents, escapes, adverse weather conditions, road closures, and more.
The new shortcode is 888777. So, start a text message. And where it says “recipient” or “to,” type 888777. Then start the message. But at the beginning of the message, type the Sioux County Sheriff’s agency ID, which is “tipsioux”. Then type in your tip and press the send button.
The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office says other than the change in the number, the program works just as it always has, since 2010.
