Prince George Crime Stoppers saw an across-the-board decline in activity last year.
It received 485 tips that translated into 16 arrests and the seizure of $22,090 worth of drugs and property. Eight awards worth $1,340 in total were approved.
By comparison, in 2015, 565 tips were received, producing 28 arrests and $49,556 worth of seizures. And 13 awards worth $,2265 were approved.
Crime Stoppers president Ron Polillo was at a loss to explain the drop, although he thought the number of tips received was still a healthy number. It's up to the RCMP to decide whether the tips are worth pursuing.
"We are down a bit from last year but I think in terms of brand awareness for Crime Stoppers and generating information, I think we're about on par from last year, which I think is a success," he said.
"Our stats are not as good but I think a lot of that has to do with that tip information being acted on."
Although Crime Stoppers allows tips to be provided anonymously, those who do are urged to provide as much detail about the allegation as possible.
The counts for 2014 were about the same as those for 2015, although $316,496 was seized that year. Among the busiest was 2011, when 750 tips were provided and $7 million worth of items were seized.
A plan to regionalize the service and hire a full-time coordinator is in the works but Pollilo said that hinges on getting funding from the city and the regional district.
In the meantime, Crime Stoppers is hosting a number of promotional events over the next few weeks. They include appearances at the Spring Kings hockey game tonight, the UNBC Timberwolves basketball games on Saturday night and the Cougars hockey game on Jan. 20.
Draws for a $200 gift certificate from Winston's Resto bar in the Coast Inn of the North will be held on each of those nights.
Three ways to submit a tip to Prince George Crime Stoppers remain in place. Call 1-800-222-8477, go through www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca or text the information to 274637 (CRIMES) with the keyword pgtips.
