TiPSTER: Public Safety App 2.1

TiPSTER is a platform that provides real-time, relevant, and reliable public safety tips, resources, news, and alerts. It sources information from official city, county, state, and federal public safety departments. Currently, TiPSTER covers 59 major cities/counties nationwide and is available in English and Spanish.

The public safety information available on TiPSTER includes:

• News: TiPSTER offers news from public safety departments such as law enforcement, fire, and emergency services. The news feed covers topics like unsolved crimes, missing persons, recent scams, fire hazards, and air quality updates.
• Alerts: TiPSTER provides various types of public safety alerts to aid in locating missing and wanted persons or to ensure public safety. These include Amber alerts for child abductions, Silver alerts for missing senior citizens with dementia or other mental disabilities, Blue alerts for wanted individuals accused of harming law enforcement officers, and weather alerts.
• Tips & Resources: Professionally researched articles are available in five public safety categories: crime, safety, health, mental health, and basic needs. These articles contain tips and resources on diverse topics such as human trafficking, the sex offender registry, substance abuse, suicide prevention, and financial assistance.

With a mission to connect, inform, and unite communities for a safer nation, TiPSTER aims to address the challenge of misinformation dissemination related to public safety news and alerts. By offering trustworthy information promptly and consistently, TiPSTER contributes to crime resolution, efficient resource utilization, and ultimately saves lives.

Prior to the critical emergency 911 system's implementation as an effective public safety measure, it took 43 years to reach only 93% of communities nationwide. Accelerating the adoption of such crucial tools could have potentially prevented numerous casualties.

TiPSTER enlightens communities with real-time updates on public safety matters to foster awareness and collective problem-solving initiatives across the nation. It endeavours to support improved communication between public safety departments, particularly law enforcement agencies, and communities by advocating for transparent information sharing as an essential step towards reform.