ABC Evening News carried a story last night about the use of texting from mobile phones to report emergencies and crimes. The story is also reported on the network’s website. Leading the story is an account of kidnapping victims in Atlanta, thrown in the trunk of a car. One of them sent a text message that brought rescuers. The coverage continues with a report of the first in the country anonymous texting tip line that the Boston Police Department is using:

Police still suggest the use of 911 for time sensitive emergencies, but they’ve found in some cases that text messaging can lead to a better tip, as teens already use their phones to spread information.

“We would go to crime scenes … and what we were finding out were that kids on the sides were texting one another what just happened,” said Boston Crime Stoppers Unit Commander Cecil Jones.

And those text messages often lead to more detailed accounts of the crime than what they expect from 911 calls. “People will give us more,” Jones said. “It’s helped us on murder cases, it’s helped us on domestic violence cases, it’s given us great intel on the drug activity that’s taken place in our city.”