When Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae announced the rollout of the expanded countywide CCPOTIP crime tip texting system, she said she hoped the public would use the service.
But she may not have realized how quickly Cumberland residents, when they heard of the system, would put it to use.
Literally just a couple of hours after the Nov. 18 press conference, around 4:16 p.m., the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office received its first tip — information about a fugitive from Vineland.
The next day, Sheriff’s Officers Timothy Woods and Joshua Sheppard used the information to track down and arrest Jennifer Watkins of the 1500 Block of Mayslanding Road, on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in Superior Court on a burglary charge, officials said.
She was taken to the Cumberland County Jail, Bridgeton.
“I am encouraged to see that the CCPOTIP app has worked so soon,” Webb-McRae said recently after the first tip arrest with the expanded system. “It demonstrates that this tool is a safe, convenient way for the members of the public to help law enforcement.