Jacksonville chosen as 1 of 5 cities in U.S. for partnership between Uber, Crime Stoppers

Jacksonville is one of five cities in the United States launching a new partnership between Crime Stoppers International and Uber.

Uber drivers in the Jacksonville area received a message announcing the new plan, giving them details about how to report potential crime to the First Coast Crime Stoppers hotline or online portal, according to Crime Stoppers.

"There's just a multitude of things that you could see when you are out driving around all the time," says Wyllie Hodges, the executive director of First Coast Crime Stoppers.

Hodges says he's not sure how or why Jacksonville was selected for the partnership, but he's glad to have the help. He says he envisions the number of tips will go up significantly once the drivers understand exactly what they're supposed to do.

The drivers will be trained in what to look for and how to use the P3 platform to submit tips at www.p3tips.com. They can also call in a tip, like anyone else in the community, by dialing 1-866-845-8477.

The other U.S. cities participating with Uber are Atlanta, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Indianapolis. But Hodges says he's been told other countries have already had success with the new concept.

"I think it's already been going for some time in Guatemala, Panama City, Panama, San Salvador," Hodges says.

So far this year, Uber’s global team that works with police on investigations has doubled, according to the company. They have about a dozen former law enforcement professionals on their team.

“They could be seeing getaway cars from whatever, they could see suspicious activity going on such as drug trades,” Hodges says.

He says there’s no way to tell on his end whether a tip is coming from an Uber driver or someone else, because it’s all anonymous. But the online submissions are sure to soar, Hodges says.