The Prince George Crime Stopper program will continue to provide cash rewards for tips that produce arrests and recoveries of stolen property.
But reaping a few extra bucks appears to be far from most people's minds when they leave a lead with the service.
In all, 13 awards adding up to $2,265 were approved during 2015, but not even half of them have been collected, Prince George Crime Stoppers president Ron Polillo said Wednesday.
"They're not motivated by the money, they're motivated because they're doing the right thing," Polillo said.
In all, Crime Stoppers, which also serves outlying communities like Vanderhoof, McBride and Mackenzie, received 565 tips and they yielded 28 arrests and the seizure of $49,356 in drug and property during the year.
The totals were generally about the same as those for 2014, although $316,496 in property and drugs were recovered that year.
"It's been fairly consistent," Polillo said. "People are using the line and providing a lot of information for police to investigate. It's a program that works and works well in this region."
Among the busiest years was 2011, when there were 750 tips and $7 million worth of drugs and property seized, likely because of the number of marijuana grow-op takedowns.
Other highlights from the past year included hosting the B.C. Crime Stoppers conference, drawing about 150 delegates to Prince George.
Crime Stoppers volunteers will be out in the community over this month to raise awareness about the program.
They were at Saturday's Prince George Cougars hockey game against the Victoria Royals, where they held a draw to win a $50 Pine Centre Mall gift certificate.
This Saturday they'll be at the Northern Sport Centre for the UNBC Timberwolves basketball games against the University of B.C.-Okanagan Heat where they'll host a paper airplane toss with a Garmin GPS as the top prize.
The women tip off at 5 p.m. and the men at 7 p.m.
On Sat., Jan. 30, they will be at the Prince George Spruce Kings hockey game against the Merritt Centennials, where a Blu Ray player will be among the prizes given away in a draw.
The program welcomes tips that will help the RCMP solve crimes. Tips that lead to arrests and seizures and the recovery of stolen property are eligible for a cash reward and all information is received on an anonymous basis.
The ways to provide a tip remain the same.
You can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or go online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca, or text CRIMES using keyword "pgtips."
