Aug
16
Written by:
Greater Louisville Project
8/16/2010 9:02 PM
Our city has been the recipient of numerous rankings throughout the years including “Most Livable City in America” by the US Conference of Mayors, “Top 25 Places to Retire” by Money Magazine, and “Top 25 Bicycle Friendly Cities” by Bicycling Magazine. Metro Louisville’s quality of life plays a major role in the assignment of these designations, and safety is often cited as one of the key attributes that sets us apart from other cities.
Ask any veteran law enforcement officer and he or she will tell you that a community’s level of crime is dependent not just upon the police department but also its citizens. Here in Metro Louisville our residents have kept the phones ringing off the hook since the implementation of our anonymous Crime Tip Hot Line, 574-LMPD (5673).
574-LMPD was born shortly after the merger of Jefferson County and the City of Louisville. Mayor Abramson and I officially unveiled the program in October 2004 as a 24 hour crime fighting tool and partnership between the police department and our residents. What began with about 100 calls a month quickly mushroomed into 30,000 annual contacts with callers providing details on drug activity, homicides, burglaries, and thefts among other crimes. In essence, 574-LMPD provides LMPD with 700,000 additional pairs of ears and eyes throughout our community.
At present, the Crime Tip Hot Line is staffed with civilian personnel who work 24 hours a day seven days a week ensuring that callers are able to speak with a live person 99% of the time. Employees receive special training enabling them to ask pertinent questions that lead to tips proving crucial to an investigation. The information is quickly disseminated to officers on the street allowing them to act immediately thereby greatly increasing the chances of arrest.
Even though the Tip Line is anonymous not all citizens are comfortable talking directly with law enforcement. For those persons Quick Tip cards, written in Spanish and English, are available at convenience stores, school campuses, and other locations. The self-addressed, postage paid card allows users to confidentially write down crime information and drop the card in the mail. Another option available for sharing information is Crime Tip Texting. Text messaging is an extremely popular form of communication, particularly for younger persons. Text messages sent to 574-LMPD utilize advanced technology to scramble the sender’s phone number, thereby maintaining their anonymity.
Calls to the Tip Line often reveal other needs. As a result 574-LMPD has expanded to include other services including collaboration with Metro United Way 211. Some callers request assistance with social services such as drug treatment or counseling for domestic violence and are immediately connected with Metro United Way 211. Persons interested in establishing a Neighborhood Watch Group can call 574-LMPD for details. A bi-lingual, Spanish-speaking officer also works with 574-LMPD Crime Tip Unit.
Since its inception nearly six years ago, 574-LMPD has proven to be a vital component in our community policing efforts. Thanks to our residents the Tip Line has led to more than 2800 arrests and over 125,000 phone calls. Good policing encourages citizens to engage with their police department. 574-LMPD and its accompanying services provide several avenues for officers to connect with the people we serve.
Col. Robert White has spent over 38 years in law enforcement working as an Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, and Inspector/Commander. He has served as Chief of Police for the Louisville Metro Police Department since January 2003.
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