Crime Stoppers convention coming to city

Police stop crime, but civilians can also fight for justice with Crime Stoppers.

The venerable organization is bringing its best people and top ideas to Prince George for the agency's annual general meeting and convention. About 80 will arrive here for meetings and events running from April 30 to the close on May 3.

"We have hosted the B.C. Crime Stoppers convention before, but it has been more than 20 years. The fact it is Prince George's centennial, it's a big year for P.G. in a lot of ways, our local board felt it was time to host again," said longtime local board member Ron Polillo. "We have one of the stronger Crime Stoppers programs in the province, if not in Canada, so we felt it was time to have these discussions here at our table."

Polillo isn't boasting. The statistics are clear that Prince George residents are engaged in public safety by using the Crime Stoppers set of tools. Since 1991, the Prince George chapter has received 11,067 tips (more are added to that list every day).

They have been effective tips. Police can link 1,469 arrests to information received via Crime Stoppers. Those tips have also led to almost $3.1 million worth of stolen property recovered and a whopping $33 million in drugs has been seized that would otherwise have ended up on local streets.

The Prince George service has now been expanded to include Fraser Lake, Vanderhoof, Fort St. James, McBride and Valemount.

Since Crime Stoppers is a not-for-profit group, independent in each chapter, and receiving no financial help from police or government, part of the AGM discussion will focus on better ways to fundraise.

Another key discussion will focus on best practices, as the different chapters of the province will share their successes in the ever-evolving world of high-tech communications, grassroots relationships and marketing their message. To be successful, they must attract information from people sending tips by phone call, text message, email and social media.

"We are there to inspire each other and share the things going right, or things that didn't work. It's an invaluable knowledge-gathering meeting," said Polillo. There are also guest speakers on engaging topics like the latest techniques and examples of fraud, money laundering, forensics and much more. "We also plan to have fun, too, and show off our city. We will do a P.G. treasure hunt, a lot of people want to have a tour of the new RCMP building, and then there is our awards night."

The Prince George chapter has won many of those awards over the years, and they are in the running for more hardware this coming week.

The public is invited to attend that gala event. For ticket information contact Christa Marques at 250-552-3933 or email her at [email protected]. Polillo is also available at [email protected].

To give an anonymous tip on a crime (rewards are available for information leading to enforcement success, and collection of the reward can be done anonymously, too) call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).