Cash rewards yield secretive results
Erin Thompson
Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: News
Starting a Crime Stoppers program in your community can yield cash rewards.
Cash rewards for heinous crimes have long been used by law enforcement; the numbers are meant to get attention and results, but whether they are claimed and by whom often goes unnoticed.
One organization that delivers results and pays for valuable information is Crime Stoppers, a non profit organization of citizens against crime.
Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards of up to $1,000 to anyone with useful information that leads to the arrest of criminals, said Tom Kerns, program director for Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana.
Crime Stoppers provides a way for citizens to anonymously call and give information about crime to be passed on to law enforcement who investigate the tips. Crime Stoppers brings together the community, law enforcement and the media to go after those accused of felonies or capital crimes, crimestoppersusa.com reported.
Tom Kern assures the anonymity of tipsters. Crime Stoppers does not have caller ID, representatives do not ask for the caller's name and a secret code number is provided to each caller in the event of a useful tip, Kern said.
To pay tipsters who provide useful information, the Crime Stoppers Board of Directors must raise money through various Fund-raisers, donations and their own contributions, Kern said.
Crime Stoppers reports that more than 400,000 arrests have been made and $65.3 million has been awarded to helpful callers since the program's start in 1976, the Web site reported.
Despite these phenomenal statistics, rewards given by Crime Stoppers are not publicized because the program is designed to protect the caller's identity, Kern said.
"If we get on the news and say 'Hey, yeah a Crime Stoppers tip solved this case,' defense attorneys are going to come after us, and perhaps the criminal might get an idea or figure out who may have called in on them based on the timing and the information provided," Kern said.
Cash rewards for heinous crimes have long been used by law enforcement; the numbers are meant to get attention and results, but whether they are claimed and by whom often goes unnoticed.
One organization that delivers results and pays for valuable information is Crime Stoppers, a non profit organization of citizens against crime.
Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards of up to $1,000 to anyone with useful information that leads to the arrest of criminals, said Tom Kerns, program director for Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana.
Crime Stoppers provides a way for citizens to anonymously call and give information about crime to be passed on to law enforcement who investigate the tips. Crime Stoppers brings together the community, law enforcement and the media to go after those accused of felonies or capital crimes, crimestoppersusa.com reported.
Tom Kern assures the anonymity of tipsters. Crime Stoppers does not have caller ID, representatives do not ask for the caller's name and a secret code number is provided to each caller in the event of a useful tip, Kern said.
To pay tipsters who provide useful information, the Crime Stoppers Board of Directors must raise money through various Fund-raisers, donations and their own contributions, Kern said.
Crime Stoppers reports that more than 400,000 arrests have been made and $65.3 million has been awarded to helpful callers since the program's start in 1976, the Web site reported.
Despite these phenomenal statistics, rewards given by Crime Stoppers are not publicized because the program is designed to protect the caller's identity, Kern said.
"If we get on the news and say 'Hey, yeah a Crime Stoppers tip solved this case,' defense attorneys are going to come after us, and perhaps the criminal might get an idea or figure out who may have called in on them based on the timing and the information provided," Kern said.
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