What is Crime Stoppers

Crime Stoppers is a non-profit organization that combines the Public, the Media and Law Enforcement Agencies in a crime-solving effort.  The simple premise of the program is to use the Media to ask the Public to get involved in assisting the Law Enforcement Agencies by identifying suspects involved in criminal activities.  It is funded by donations from the public, service groups, organizations and through fundraising initiatives, emanating from the Board of Directors of local Crime Stoppers chapters. 

The Crime Stoppers organization is a community program and is made up of volunteers from the community at large and the Media, who liaise with Law Enforcement Agencies.

The Public qualifies for cash awards if their tip leads to an arrest.  They do not have to reveal their identity, at any time, through the process.  This effectively removes apathy and the fear of coming forward and getting personally involved.

The telephone number is widely publicized to generate calls to the Crime Stoppers office.  The toll-free line, 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), has been established across Canada to provide national access to the Crime Stoppers program in rural areas.  The lines are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

A crime is committed!  A call is received from an anonymous tipster!

On the initial call, if the tipster wishes to receive an award, he/she is given a number for the purpose of identification.  The numbering system is the ONLY form of identity used int he process.  No telephone numbers, or even first names, are exchanged.  This is an absolute MUST for this program.

The police investigation

Each piece of information is fully investigated by law enforcement agencies  to substantiate the tipster's information and, at the conclusion, the results are sent back to the Crime Stoppers office.  Either the information is ruled out as insufficient, not creditable or it lead to an arrest.  The number of people arrested, number of charges, value of the property of narcotics recovered, is then added to that tipster's file.

Updating the tipster

During the initial call, the tipster is asked to call the Crime Stoppers office back at a later date to determine how useful his or her information was.  When this happens, the tipster is informed whether or not an arrest was made.  The Crime Stoppers office does not have access to "call display".  The calls are not recorded and are absolutely guaranteed to be anonymous.

Award recommendation

If an arrest is made as a result of a tipster's information, that tipster will then qualify for a cash award.  All particulars of the arrest are thus presented by the police coordinator to the local Crime Stoppers Board/Chapter who determines the amount of the cash award to be paid.

Payment of the award

Once the award is decided, the Crime Stoppers office again awaits the tipster to call back to claim his/her money.  Identity of the tipster is made by the personal code number and confirmation of the original information provided.  Once confirmed, the tipster is provided with the name and phone number of a contact person (who is a Crime Stoppers volunteer) and/or the address of a location to attend and a convenient time.  Sometimes, the tipster is also assigned a "code word".  The tipster is instructed to attend that location, state their code word and personal identity number.  Once this is done, the contact person will produce a plain envelope containing the cash award.  If the tipster wishes to pick up the award in any other location in Canada or the United States, this can be arranged immediately.  The only persons having knowledge of the code word and personal code number are the tipster, the contact person and the Crime Stoppers coordinator.  The tipster is never asked for identification or placed in any danger when picking up the award.  If the tipster prefers to nominate a substitute, they may feel free to do so by telling that person where to attend, the code word and the tipster's original personal identity number.  This system has worked perfectly and without compromise since the inception of the Crime Stoppers program.

The question of integrity and anonymity

In 1976, when Detective Inspector Greg MacAleese first started the Crime Stoppers program with the New Mexico Police Department in Albuquerque, he identified two major points that were crucial to the success of the newly initiated Crime Stoppers program;  how to deal with apathy and how to protect and absolutely guarantee the tipster's anonymity.  Apathy was addressed through the award system, but anonymity was the most important feature.  He understood that people do not want to get involved mainly because they want their identity protected.  This protection or anonymity gave people who really wanted to help a guarantee that there would be no retaliation, no alienation within or outside their peer group, and no necessity to fear the justice system.  Getting involved anonymously with an award made Crime Stoppers the most significant crime-fighting tool since fingerprints and D.N.A.

How anonymity is acheived

When a tipster calls the Crime Stoppers telephone line, they are first given a number and they are prompted not to disclose their identity at any time.  The tipster then uses that same number for all subsequent communication with Crime Stoppers.  The program does not subscribe to call display anywhere in North America and the identity of the caller, beyong gender, is never known.  In the Crime Stoppers file that is created, the caller is referred to as "the tipster" and not "he or she" which would then disclose the gender of the tipster to the police investigator.  Should the caller share information with the call taker that would compromise identity in any way, that information is removed from the file that goes to the police investigator.  Information such as "I live close enough to see what's going on" or "the suspect uses my phone to call their drug clients" is all removed by re-writing the summary of information.  Through this method of screening and sanitizing the tip information, the caller can never, even accidentally, be recognized or identified by the nature of content of the tip information.  The tipster remains, in terms of identity, only a number.  Investigators are reminded, in each and every case, that all references to Crime Stoppers, whether it be fax or routine correspondence, be removed from the operational police file upon the arrest of the suspect or the conclusion of the case.  All information is computerized, securely protected by passwords, and secured in a locked office accessible only to Crime Stoppers personnel.

Local Board of Directors

The Board of Directors are responsible for the fiscal matters for the organization:  raising money through donations to Crime Stoppers for the day-to-day operations of the program and for paying awards; review and authorization of award payments for each case solved by a tip to Crime Stoppers; and paying the operating expenses.  The Board meets once each month.  The Executive is elected by the Board and serve two-year terms.  The members can serve subsequent terms upon review and approval of the Board.  Fund raising is done throughout the year.  These fundraisers are necessary in order to raise the funds needed to run the program.  Crime Stoppers month is held in January of each year.

Today, there are over a thousand Crime Stoppers programs worldwide and they all operate by offering cash awards and complete anonymity to our callers.  The distinctive feature of Crime Stoppers is that it is a community program, administered and overseen by our citizens.  Crime Stoppers is NOT another police program.  Simply put, Crime Stoppers is an extension of the community responding to crime.

Crime Stoppers International Inc. offers assistance and monitors all the programs around the world.  There are Crime Stoppers organizations in:  Australia, British West Indies, Bermuda, Canada, Fiji, Jamaica, Micronesia (3), New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Turks & Caicos, United Kingdom, United States and many other countries.