We Tip! And then what?

By Alissa Young

We Tip is a new program on our Fortuna High campus. This program offers a safe and completely anonymous way to report crimes. Sound good so far? Now add a reward on top of that. If your tip leads to an arrest or other appropriate action, you can receive up to a $1,000 cash reward. You can report any illegal activity to this hotline. We tip is a nonprofit organization that is run by grants. 

Wondering how this can possibly stay anonymous?  Well… when you call the hotline. You are given a number, and are asked not to state your name during any point in the phone call. Your call goes to a department in southern California that is not able to trace your calls. From there, the information is dispatched to the Fortuna Police Department, and then emailed to the school resource officer and school administrator. You call back the We Tip number in 2 to 3 weeks and you tell them the number that you were given when you originally called.  They will then tell you if your information has led to any arrests. If so, they give you a fake name and arrange a place for you to pick up the reward.  

Fortuna is the only local town that is currently using We Tip. It is set up at the high school as well as both middle schools. This program helps solve problems such as drug use, weapons, and even bullying in the younger schools.  Charles Ellebrecht, our schools resource officer, believes that we will see positive effects on our campus, and that hopefully We Tip will make students think before engaging in illegal activity. When asked what prompted the police department to participate in We tip, Charles said that the department was looking for a way to allow students and citizens to report crimes without fear of retaliation. The effects of We Tip so far? 3 tips which led to 2 arrests.