US Marshals Now A Text Message Away
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – We've become a society addicted to social media.
From texting friends to using smart phones to Tweet or update Facebook pages.
"These days' people are texting almost more than they are talking on the phone," said U.S. Marshal Barry Golden.
Now the U.S. Marshals would like people to use their cell-phones to help others. They've come up with a way for people to send texts to them anonymously which will help them catch the bad guys.
"It allows the public to text in a tip of a fugitive from our website or wanted fugitive list," Golden said.
You won't have to call authorities anymore; your good deed will be at your finger tips.
"The good thing about it they will remain totally anonymous," Golden Said.
The Marshal's service hopes getting the word out on the street about the new program will hopefully get the criminals off the streets.
"We're trying to familiarize the public with usmarshals.gov where people can go on and view the fugitives that are wanted throughout the state of Florida," Golden said.
It's also useful for investigators. They now have direct contact with tipsters possibly leading to quicker arrests.
"They can describe where he is, what's he's doing, what he's driving," Golden said. "If we have four million eyes out their looking for a fugitive, that's a great tool."
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of a known fugitive can simply text "TIP411" or "847411" and enter the key word "USMFL".
