It’s a new alternative to that “old-fashioned” call from a pay phone that the Sacramento police and sheriff’s departments unveiled Thursday.
 
Police chief Rick Braziel says it’s completely anonymous – and a huge help.
 
Braziel: “It allows us to actively engage in a live conversation.  We can get a tip and text message back and forth between our detectives and the person giving us the tip and get real-time information.”
 
The police department says it already gets about 120 tips a month, and it’s anticipating an increase.
 
Also, Comcast is putting short video profiles of crime suspects on its cable on-demand service for subscribers.