On Nov. 1, a man sitting in a parked car on South White Street in the City of Poughkeepsie called a 16-year-old boy over and told him to get in. The boy did not, and the man stepped out of his car and approached him. It was broad daylight. The boy punched him and ran.
Fortunately, police were able to ascertain key details: the man is white and in his 30s, with curly brown hair. A one-inch scar runs under his left eye. His brown Toyota Camry is an older model with rust under the passenger side door.
Police then posted a description of the incident on their newest crime-fighting tool, the Citizen Observer Alert Network. The Web site and alert system allow police to post wanted photos, news about crimes and updates on investigations.
“Reaching as many people as we can is important to us,” said chief Ronald Knapp.
In addition the situation described above, several dozen alerts distributed since October have notified residents about a spate of recent car break-ins. They’ve provided updates on homicide investigations and robberies. The alerts also list a phone number for a confidential tip line – some provide contact information for a detective handling the case. Police hope the network will spark two-way communication, as users call or send e-mails to officers.
The online network is accessed from a link on the City of Poughkeepsie’s Web site, www.cityofpoughkeepsie.com – click on the police link. Or visit www.citizenobserver.com and click on “find your community.” Visitors who register on the site receive e-mail or text message notifications.
Knapp said Poughkeepsie and Kingston are the only two communities in New York state that currently use the Citizen Observer, a software tool available to law enforcement agencies around the country.
“This is information that we feel is important to people and information they’ve been wanting,” said Knapp during a presentation to the Common Council at a Nov. 19 meeting. “We’re hoping it will be a service that the public will like.”
The tool is paid for with $3,500 in funds from Operation IMPACT, a state-sponsored program that encourages cooperation between local, state and federal law enforcement. Funds cover two years of Citizen Observer service.
“It’s a great way to keep the public involved,” said Knapp.