The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has determined it needs to make changes to how it handles tips from the public and has decided to model the overall plan for the county after the Text-A-Tip program developed by the Fountain Hills Coalition.

MCSO Capt. Hank Brandimarte, commander for District 7 based in Fountain Hills, said that with the Sheriff’s Office operating under a court order all tips must now be screened at a central location to assure they comply with the court order.

Since the Text-A-Tip program in Fountain Hills has operated extremely well for several years now, it was decided to make it the model for the entire county, according to Brandimarte.

The program was created and has been under the jurisdiction of the Fountain Hills Coalition, dedicated to youth substance abuse prevention. Due to the court order the program needs to be transferred to MCSO control. That will be a seamless transition, Brandimarte said.

All tips are to be screened at a central location and checked for bias concerns in order to comply with the court order.

The program will maintain the strict rules regarding anonymity and the numbers that apply to Fountain Hills will remain unchanged. Anonymous tips can be sent via text to CRIMES [274637], and you should start the text message with “FH.”

While under the umbrella of the local Coalition, texted tips can be in relation to any incident, anywhere in town, that concerned citizens want to anonymously notify deputies about.

Between May and August there were 21 Text-A-Tip calls including three arrests. In June, deputies responded to a tip regarding an underage drinking party. Two juveniles were arrested along with one adult.