Crime Tips

October 20, 2022

Question: How many crime tips does the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) receive each year through CALTIP?

Answer: CALTIP, which stands for Californians Turn in Poachers and Polluters, was started in 1981 to serve as a tool for the public to report crimes involving wildlife - including plants, habitat and pollution. It is essentially a secret witness program where concerned citizens can report crimes and choose to remain anonymous.

CALTIP receives about 6,000 reports per calendar year. In 2015, CALTIP incorporated TIP411 as a tool for reporting violations using text, a phone app, or the “Report Poachers and Polluters” link on CDFW’s homepage. Currently about 2,000 reports are submitted via TIP411 per calendar year.

Reporting through CALTIP allows the public to be additional eyes and ears for CDFW’s wildlife officers while helping to protect California state resources from those who choose to act illegally by unlawfully killing animals, uprooting protected plants or polluting California waterways, for example.

The three ways to submit a crime tip through CALTIP or TIP411 are:

1.   Call 1-888-334-2258 (1-888-334-CALTIP)

2.   Use the free CALTIP smartphone app available at wildlife.ca.gov/Enforcement/CalTIP

3.   Use the “Report a Violation Online” link located on the CALTIP page at wildlife.ca.gov/Enforcement/CalTIP

To learn more, watch the Advanced Hunter Education CALTIP webinar (YouTube)(opens in new tab) on CDFW’s YouTube page(opens in new tab).