The combination of increased community tension with police and the ongoing pandemic are changing the ways law enforcement prevents crime.

News 12 was in Pomona at the Rockland District Attorney's Crime Analysis Center to discuss how the DA's office is adjusting.

Law enforcement in Rockland is seeing a major increase in the use of its anonymous tip service, and it's becoming one of its most important tools to fight crime.

At the Crime Analysis Center, tips on possible criminal activities are received, processed and distributed to local police departments.

 Anyone with a phone can anonymously send information to the Tip411 program, which has been around since 2018.

More people are sending in tips than ever before. The DA's office is seeing a 40% to 50% increase in the number of people sending tips this year already.

The biggest reports in 2020 are for domestic violence, drugs and violations of the state's coronavirus safety guidelines.

"The information provided to Tip411 enables our Crime Analysis Center to determine the areas that should be focused on to prevent and apprehend criminal activity," says Rockland District Attorney Tom Walsh.