Got a police tip?
Well, now, you can text it in.
Though not for true emergencies - still dial 911 for those - the department's new text tipline is anonymous and easy to remember: PPD TIP.
It just another way for citizens to partner with police to "take back their neighborhoods," Mayor Nutter said Thursday, announcing the tipline at a Philly Tech Week event.
"We are using as many tools as possible so citizens can easily reach out to the police to report crimes, illegal guns or to provide tips that could lead to the arrest of dangerous criminals," said Mayor Nutter. "I would like to encourage Philadelphians to save this number in their phones."
Texters can either type in the letters PPD TIP or the corresponding numbers: 773847. After sending, they will get a message saying their text has been received.
The tipline, which is up and running, is part of the departments efforts to strengthen its social media crime fighting tools.
Earlier this month, police announced a new phillypolice.com smartphone application, and the department will soon begin training officers to better use Twitter, including its official Twitter feed, @Phillypolice.