Secret Witness accepting text tips from students

Secret Witness is now offering school-aged tipsters a new way to pass along information to police.

Text messaging has been brought into the mix by the highly publicized tip line that offers rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for serious crime.

"We hope to expand to the adult line here sometime in the near future as soon as we get the logistics figured out," said Dale Edwards, Secret Witness law enforcement liaison, on Tuesday. "We decided that the kids are hot and heavy into texting, and we'd thought we'd try it out there first."

Brock Richter, chairman of the board of directors for Secret Witness, said the texting option became available in August.

"We wanted to have it in place for the start of the school year," said Richter.

He warned people that the text option is only available to students.

"It is not a general public system right now. It's only for the school district," he said. "You have to remember, we get 300 to 400 calls a month on the Secret Witness (phone) line alone. We haven't set up the (text) system to really do that yet."

Anonymous school tips can be sent in a text message to 274-637. Enter TIP725 plus the message in the body.