CRIME STOPPERS HELPS TO SOLVE A CRIME EVERY 14 MINUTES SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD. In July 1976, Greg MacAleese, a Canadian-born police officer in Albuquerque, New Mexico was investigating a robbery/murder that took place on a Friday night at a local Phillips 66 gas station in a well-traveled part of town. The victim, Michael Carmen, was only two weeks from marrying his high school sweetheart, and was filling in for a friend who needed that shift off that night. Michael had cooperated with the robbers and turned over the $36 in the till, but they shot him anyway. Michael died four hours later. MacAleese was frustrated that no one would come forward with information on this crime. He determined that there were two reasons for the public’s lack of confidence in their police department: (1) Citizens were apathetic. In other words, “why bother,” or “what’s in it for me?” (2) Fear of criminal retaliation. Many citizens in Albuquerque believed that if they came forward with information, they might be the next victim. Determined that this case could be solved, MacAleese approached his Chief of Police, local businesses and the media with the idea to overcome apathy by having local businesses offer a cash award as an incentive for anyone with information to call police. To overcome fear of criminal retaliation, they would offer callers complete anonymity. A local television station agreed to re-enact this crime in September. The re-enactment aired at approximately 10:45p.m. during their newscast, and by 8:00a.m. the next morning, the crime was solved. Impressed with the results, MacAleese sought the support of the Chief of Police to continue this type of approach to solving crimes. The chief agreed that if Crime Stoppers could solve 30 serious crimes by the end of the year he would consider making it permanent and part of Albuquerque Police Department’s fight against crime. In fact, in the next four months, Crime Stoppers solved 300 crimes! Crime Stoppers took off ! And the program grew so much that by October 1980, Crime Stoppers USA had 59 programs. Then in August 1983, Crime Stoppers International was formed to reflect the worldwide interest in this unique program. Today, there are more than 1,700 programs worldwide that all operate in exactly the same way - we offer cash awards and complete anonymity. THE TUPSZ OF DSJNF!TUPQQFST! CRIME STOPPERS PARTNERS - THE VOLUNTEERS "Volunteers don't get paid not because they're worthless but because they're priceless." - Sherry Anderson This quote of Anderson exactly describes our team who give so generously of their time and effort to strengthen Nova Scotia communities and its citizens. In the words of a previous police coordinator of Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, "these volunteers are the glue that keep us together. They are such a dedicated and focused group who want to make our province one of the safest places to live." Without the commitment of civic-minded volunteers, Crime Stoppers could not boast of the tremendous successes its had in this province. This same statement can be attributed to other Crime Stoppers programs across the country and around the world. In Nova Scotia, we ask our volunteers to promote the positive results of Crime Stoppers. We ask them to speak to interested groups and sponsors that express interest in this unique crime-fighting effort. They are the people that oversee and administer the program. They assess the successful tips provided to Crime Stoppers, determine how much a tipster will be paid and they make that payment. It cannot be understated that they are the guardians of Crime Stoppers. And if one wonders if their efforts are paying off, just review the statistics page included in this year's Awareness Guide. CRIME STOPPERS PARTNERS - THE POLICE Sir Robert Peel, considered the father of modern-day policing, penned nine principles of policing. One of which is, 'Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.' This statement directly reflects the Mission Statement of the Crime Stoppers program. No matter what we do or who we are, every citizen has a duty to maintain a role in the safety and security of every other citizen. It has often DSJNF!TUPQQFST!NOVA SCOTIA 1987-2025 ...continued CRIMESTOPPERS.NS.CA 1 Cover photo by rawpixel.com on Freepik
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