Fargo Police Department Releases Crime-Fighting App For Residents

The Fargo Police Department is looking to get residents more involved with crime-stopping. So, of course, there's a CRIME-FIGHTING APP that the people of Fargo can download to give anonymous tips.

According to Valley News Live (Fargo), a FREE app is being released to the public for crime alerts and for residents to assist in solving crimes. The report says that this app will be good to connect the police department with residents. Residents will have access to crime alerts and other information, AND they can send ANONYMOUS tips to the police department.

So, how can you be sure your information is secure on this app? Valley News Live's story says, "the tip system is 100% anonymous, as the technology removes all identifying information before police see the tips and there is no way to identify the sender." So, as long as that information is, in fact, factual, you won't have to worry about your information privacy. Get the full details about the new free crime-help app  here.

Now, I would be a little skeptical to download this app, because there IS that slight bit of paranoia where one might think, "Did I read the fine print closely enough? Did I just give up all of my privacy?" among other thoughts. But I love the idea of using the community to help solve crimes.

I first heard of something like this while listening to the podcast My Favorite Murder. They did a preview of a podcast where a couple of detectives talk about cold cases and encourage listeners to contact them with information on the cases. To me, this is an extraordinary use of broadcasting. So, using an app to fight crime locally seems pretty awesome, too.

Do you think other North Dakota Police Departments should have a tip app for local residents to keep track of crime?