The steps, start to finish

Getting from the welcome screen to your tip code takes eight short screens. Here’s what happens on each one.

1. The welcome screen

This screen tells you the service is for reporting other people, not yourself. If someone is in danger right now, it points you to call 911 instead of using this form.

2. Pick a category

You choose the kind of activity you’re reporting: harm to a person, a weapon or a threat, someone missing or in danger, drugs, a property crime, fraud, or something else. Your choice decides which follow-up questions come next.

3. Tell us about the person, if there is one

If your tip is about a specific person, the next screen asks what you know about them: a name or nickname, what they look like, where they can be found. Leave blank whatever you don’t know.

4. The location

You give the location of the crime. If you know the address, you enter it. If not, you can describe it instead - an intersection, a landmark, or a business nearby.

What you enter here is encrypted on your device before it’s sent, and only the agency that can act on it can read it.

5. What you know

Next, you tell us what you know, in your own words. There’s room to add details that fit your category, like a vehicle, a weapon, or when it happened. You can also attach photos, screenshots, or files.

6. Getting your tip ready

Before anything is sent, there’s a short screen called “Getting your tip ready.” If any wording in what you wrote could point back to who you are, it’s shown to you here so you can change it, or send it as it is.

7. Look it over

You see exactly what will be sent - what you wrote, the location, and the category - before it goes anywhere. You can also say whether you’d like a cash reward if your tip leads to an arrest. Answering is optional.

8. Set a password, then send

Setting a password is optional. It adds a second lock just for you.

If you forget it, you can still check your tip’s status with your tip code. You won’t be able to read or send messages, and no one can reset it for you.

Then you send your tip. The last screen gives you a tip code. Save it - it’s what you’ll use to check your tip and send a message later.

If you get stuck partway through, you can save your tip and come back later with your tip code.