YouTube and text messaging encourage tips about suspects

February 10, 2009 (Minneapolis) –Today Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek explained how the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office is using YouTube and text messaging to encourage the public to provide tips to law enforcement.

The Sheriff’s Office has created a television program called, “Hennepin County’s Most Wanted.” The program can be viewed on city cable TV channels and on YouTube.

“Hennepin County’s Most Wanted, Part 1” may be viewed at You Tube. and “Hennepin County’s Most Wanted, Part 2” may be viewed at YouTube.

The program will display booking photos of the “top ten most wanted” fugitives – along with photos of about a dozen other people wanted on felony warrants in the county. The public will be asked to provide information to help locate them. The program is hosted by Sergeant Howard Edwards, who works for the Sheriff’s Office at the jail.

“We’ve always been impressed how the public is willing to help law enforcement with information,” said Sheriff Stanek. “With the ‘Hennepin County’s Most Wanted’ program on YouTube, it’s an especially effective way to reach young people with a public safety message.”

The Sheriff’s Office is working with Crime Stoppers of Minnesota on the program. Crime Stoppers recently began accepting tips via text messaging. To send a text tip, text “TIP674” plus your message to CRIMES (274637). For the past several months, Crime Stoppers has accepted tips online from its website. Web tips can be submitted at www.crimestoppermn.com.

Both online tips and text tips are confidential. Crime Stoppers has technology in place to prevent the messages from being traced back to the tipster.

“This keeps pace with how people communicate with popular technology,” said Nick Luciano, chairman of Crime Stoppers of Minnesota. “We already receive most of our tips from our website. We predict texting will be even more popular.”

Toll free telephone numbers are also available. People may call the Sheriff’s Office at 1-889-988-TIPS or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. The Crime Stoppers tip line is always answered by an operator. Tipsters calling the toll free line at the Sheriff’s Office may be asked to leave a recorded message. All communication will remain anonymous and tipsters will not be asked for their names.

It doesn’t matter how someone provides information --by the web, texting or telephone -- the tipster could be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $1000 if that tip leads to the arrest or indictment of an individual.

There are currently more than 18,000 active warrants in Hennepin County. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office is mandated by law to administer and execute the service of warrants countywide. The Warrant Unit in the Sheriff’s Office served nearly 8,000 felony warrants in 2008.

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Minneapolis Media & Cable Services Department for providing their personnel and expertise for the production of “Hennepin County’s Most Wanted” television program.