CRIMESTOPPERS.NS.CA 3 The Crime Stoppers programs were launched in November 1987 with a program for mainland Nova Scotia and a second for Cape Breton Island. Not unlike the first Crime Stoppers in Albuquerque, our programs took off. We can boast that we’ve solved such serious crimes as murder, aggravated sexual assault, fraud, arson, illegal smuggling and drug dealing. You name it, and our anonymous tipsters have solved it. We proudly say that no matter where you live in Nova Scotia, whether you’re served by the RCMP or a municipal police service, Crime Stoppers has played a significant role in identifying criminals and bringing them to justice. Later in this article, I will share some of the many cases solved by anonymous tipsters. Crime Stoppers has proven its worth many times over to our police and other enforcement agencies. Remember, Crime Stoppers is not a police program. It is an extension of the community assisting law enforcement. How many times have we heard that expression, “is your organization cost effective and efficient in service delivery?” If you apply that statement to Crime Stoppers and how the program operates, you will readily agree that we are effective and efficient. Crime Stoppers tipsters, at no cost to the investigating agency, will relay information on crimes; who is responsible, how they did it, what was stolen, where it’s hidden, and so on. Tipsters save our partners time and effort in investigating crime. Successful tipsters are rewarded in cash, anywhere from $50 to $2,000, for their efforts by the Crime Stoppers program, not the police. Very early in our history, we identified the persons responsible for the murder of a man. The motive for that crime was robbery. The victim was robbed of a small amount of money and through the efforts of a tipster who overheard the perpetrators discuss their crime and, specifically, how they committed it, was so valuable to police that they were able to make two arrests. Eventually, both pleaded guilty. Another case involving a vicious assault was solved through the efforts of a tipster who was able to provide us with the name of the assailant based on a specific description of the attacker. Several years ago, Crime Stoppers identified several people involved in an elaborate debit card scam which, at that time, had cost the banking institution several thousand dollars in losses. The tipster was able to provide precise details on how this group was defrauding the bank. Police believe that approximately 80% of criminal activity is drug related. So Crime Stoppers is always proud of any drug seizure attributed to our program. We are very proud that to date, we have been responsible for removing over $14 MILLION in illegal drugs out of the hands of our youth. Included in those seizures is everything from street level dealing as well as sophisticated growing operations. A cocaine seizure in the mid 1990’s was valued at $400,000. More importantly, police seized several automatic weapons and the persons arrested were high-ranking members of an organized crime group in another part of Canada. The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates that approximately 15% of insurance claims are fraudulent. This is a crime that costs us all. There are several cases on the Crime Stoppers books where we have identified people who have engineered their own crime and insurance claim and because of the assistance of our tipsters, Crime Stoppers were able to provide police with specific details of how the so-called crime was committed, what the suspects were claiming in losses and most importantly, where the personal items were actually hidden. (continues) DSJNF!TUPQQFST!- NOVA SCOTIA OUR NJTTJPO STATEMENT Crime Stoppers promotes the reduction of crime through community based effort to provide appropriate authorities with the information needed to lay charges against those responsible. Crime Stoppers endeavors to encourage the community to assist local law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime by overcoming two key elements that inhibit community involvement: Fear and Apathy. Our goal is to make our communities a safer place to live and conduct business. Cover - darkened forest background photo created by kjpargeter - www.freepik.com
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