Jail officials boost efforts to encourage inmates to give tips

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Jail officials across central Florida say their efforts to get more tips from inmates are paying off and helping solve more crimes.

Lake County Sheriff Chris Daniels says his department relies on school resource deputies during the summer to lend an ear to inmates. Authorities say recent tips have included information about slayings in Georgia and Puerto Rico, and murder-for-hire plots hatched by other inmates.

To stir up more leads, the Polk Sheriff's Office is planning a "Polk County Most Wanted" television show with inmates as its target audience.

Jail officials in Polk, Orange, Brevard and Lake counties distribute playing cards with crime-tip phone numbers printed on the back. Some include details of unsolved crimes.

Posters with the tip numbers are plastered throughout some jails, and inmates who normally must call collect when they use the phone can dial up the crime-tip line with no such hindrance in many lockups.

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