Local businesses are rolling out the carpets for Crime Stoppers. They aren't red, they are black and emblazoned with the Crime Stoppers logo and contact information.
That contact information has been used by the public in ever-increasing volume. January is Crime Stoppers Awareness Month across B.C., and the president of the Prince George chapter is pleased with yet another increase in the statistics from the past year.
"We had 1,000 calls and emails last year, and that turned into 352 confirmable RCMP files," said Jack Hooper, the first-year president but longtime board member. "It was half-and-half the number of contacts from the phone line and the website, for the first time ever. The website is really growing in popularity."
The public safety service is now considering texting as the next tool they offer so people can pass on tips about who is doing crime in the Prince George area. A pilot program is underway in the Lower Mainland and Okanagan, which will inform the local Crime Stoppers board if text messaging is a viable option for this community.
The large door mats is another idea to keep the Crime Stoppers service in public view. Ten of the mats were distributed around the city - Northern Hardware, CIBC 3rd Avenue, 10th Avenue Liquor Store, Mohawk on Central, Mohawk on the Hart, The Royal Bank, PG Public Library, Value Village, and two at Pine Centre Mall. It took only three days for the local board to find homes for all 10, far faster than anticipated, so 10 more have been ordered.
"Awareness is clearly working, when you read the Citizen and see how many marijuana grow-ops have been busted in January. More than 9,000 plants have been seized in the past three or four weeks, and the police are openly saying it was because if information they received from the public so you know it is working," Hooper said. "We can't say whether some or all or any of those busts were from tips to Crime Stoppers specifically, but when they are for sure as a result of public tips, you know the public is becoming comfortable with sending in the tip when something doesn't feel right."
If a crime is underway, that is when you call 911, said Hooper, but if you find out about a crime later on and know who was there, or what might have happened to some stolen property, or who might have some drugs, etc., that is when you call Crime Stoppers.
All calls and emails to Crime Stoppers are 100 per cent untraceable. No names are ever exchanged, but numbers are used if you ever wish to claim a cash reward in the event your tips leads to prosecution. Since Crime Stoppers got underway in Prince George in 1999, more than 700 Prince George tipsters have gotten paid for good information.
That information has led to $17 million in drugs getting seized and the recovery of more than $2 million in stolen property (most of it was returnable to its rightful owner).
All this success is exactly why Northern Hardware wanted one of the Crime Stoppers mats at their front door.
"I think it is fabulous because it represents what we are all trying to do in downtown Prince George - to get everyone together again, and push back against the criminal element as a community, and help the fine members of our RCMP," said Northern Hardware's Blair Moffat. "The police have been doing a tremendous job and lately we've really seen a noticeable difference, and I think that will get even better when they bring forward the initiatives they have been setting up. And all these grow-op busts, that is only the start of it. When the members of your community take a stand together, and help the police have the information they need to act, you can really push back on the criminal element."
To call in a tip to Crime Stoppers call 1-800-222-TIPS or log on to www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca.
fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
