Tipton Police Department

For emergencies call 9-1-1. For non-emergency matters please contact the Tipton Police Department at (563) 886-2424.  You may also follow us on Facebook for updated scam alerts, public information, and community activies: Tipton Police Department. (Make sure you choose Tipton, Iowa.) 

The Tipton Police Department is a well trained and equipped police department that is composed of a Chief of Police and five Iowa Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) certified officers. The highly qualified Tipton Police Department provides services and expertise beyond what would normally be expected in a town with a population of approximately 3,000 residents. The officers bring experience from extensive backgrounds with other larger agencies as well as the military. The officers continue to train in various disciplines and to work as a team in tactical situations, crime scene investigations, and critical incident management.

Community Oriented Policing

The Tipton Police Department employs the principles of Community Oriented Policing to engage and address specific issues in the City by bringing all of the resources government and private enterprise have to offer to find solutions that benefit the entire community. The department works in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies, the faith-based community, Cedar County Case Management, Cedar County Health Department, and the Cedar County Environmental and Zoning office as well as other social service agencies and City Departments to provide professional services to the community. They seek permanent solutions to problems and issues in our community rather than merely providing a short-term law-enforcement response.

 Citizen's Complaint Form (click here)

Security Camera Registration program:

The Tipton Police Department Camera Registration Program is voluntary and creates a record of home or business security cameras, aimed to assist officers during investigations.

In the occurrence of a critical incident or criminal investigation, security footage of any kind may capture evidence crucial to solving or assisting with a case.  Police investigations regularly require officers to canvass the neighborhoods surrounding a crime scene for security footage.  But, knowing the location of security cameras will increase the speed of the investigation by assisting officers when looking for evidence.  Critical footage does not always come from the crime scene, but sometimes from the surrounding areas or streets that lead to the crime scene.
 
The Tipton Police Department is establishing a program that allows residents and businesses with security video cameras on their properties to register them with the police department. Participation within the Tipton Police Camera Registration Program is voluntary with no fee. All information that is given below or on the Tipton Police Camera Registration Program Form will be kept confidential and will only be viewed by law enforcement personnel during criminal investigations. Law enforcement personnel will not have access to any cameras or systems, only their locations and owner contact information.
 
Thank you for participating and partnering with the Tipton Police Department to make our community a safer place.

Security Camera Registration Form - Please print, complete, and return the form to the Tipton Police Depart

ment, 407 Lynn St., Tiptn IA 52772.

WEEKLY CALL LOG
 
09/09/2024 - 09/15/2024
09/16/2024 - 09/22/2024
09/23/2024 - 09/29/2024
09/30/2024 - 10/06/2024


School Liaison/School Safety

The Tipton Police Department has a Certified School Resource Officer that is in the schools almost every day that school is in session.Tipton officers regularly spend significant amounts of time in and around the schools and patroling high school events. The Chief of Police and school administrators regularly share information and discuss issues of mutual concern.

Equipment/Response

The Tipton Police Department maintains current model police cars, all equipped to handle most emergencies that may arise within the community.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Victim Notification Program

US Immigration and Customs Enforecement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigationsm(HSI) is committed to protecting the public and ensuring that the rights of victims are carefully observed. HSI administers the Victim Notification Program which allows eligible victims and witnesses to obtain reliable and timely information regarding criminal alien's release from custody.

Victims or witnesses can click here to be transferred to a number of valuable victim service programs provided by ICE.
 

SCAM

We’ve been receiving many calls and reports of scams here at the PD lately, which is sad and frightening. They seem to be targeting the elderly and college-aged kids. Considering this, here are some things to remember:  If someone calls you, says they are with the IRS, and you owe thousands in back taxes, but they are willing to take less than you owe if you go RIGHT now and purchase gift cards to cover your debt…it’s too good to be true.

If someone calls you, says that your social security number has been compromised in another state, (Ex: Texas) and they need the last four digits of your social security number to verify…your account is fine.

If you receive a call saying you just WON THE PUBLISHER’S CLEARING HOUSE SWEEPSTAKES (yeah, I was surprised this is still a thing), and to receive your prize, you need to go purchase gift cards to cover the taxes before they can release the funds…you didn’t win.
If someone claiming that a long lost relative has passed away and you are the sole heir to their fortune but you must send your bank account number and routing numbers to them…there is no long lost relative.

If someone calls you and says that your grandson/son/daughter/granddaughter has been arrested and you must send bail money by going to Walmart to purchase a gift card. Please don’t. Lawyers, bail bondsman, etc. …will not request gift cards in lieu of bail money. (This one makes me sad because it targets the elderly).

Bottom line of this post. If someone asks you to purchase gift cards to cover a “debt”, it’s a scam. Do not provide bank account numbers, social security numbers, or credit/debit card numbers to anyone. I guarantee if you take just a minute to Google what they’re saying…it’s been documented as a scam. Yes, I know that it sounds so real because they know so much about you. Take a few minutes to Google your name on the internet. You’ll find out so much about yourself…you’d be (very) surprised.

Then lastly, tell them you know this is a SCAM and you’ve contacted Officer Helpful at the Tipton Police Department. You will more than likely hear a few choice words, maybe not even in English, and then hang up. You will thank me later.
 
Lisa DuFour
Chief of Police
Tipton Police Department
407 Lynn St., Tipton, IA 52772
(563)886-2424 office
(563)886-2759 fax

 
Contact your local police through the non-emergency telephone number, the Iowa Attorney General’s office at 515-281-5926 or 888-777-4590 (outside of the Des Moines metro area), and/or contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC): https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/ or 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).