Crime Stoppers relies on cooperation between the police, the media, and the general community to provide a flow of information about crime and criminals.   By guaranteeing a Tipster's anonymity, Crime Stoppers allows the Tipster to give information in a positive atmosphere without the prospect of retaliation.  By offering cash rewards, the program encourages otherwise reluctant Tipsters to provide information.

Here is how you, the citizen, can participate:

THE TELEPHONE CALL:   Crime Stoppers' 24-hour tip line number is:   304-255-STOP  (304-255-7867).   The  telephone does not provide caller ID,  conversations are not recorded and we do not suscribe with the telephone company to have the capability to track where a telephone call originated.     Crime Stoppers would not breach the confidence of the Tipsters because this would ruin the integrity of the Crime Stoppers program.

Calls are accepted regarding any publicized request for information, or regarding any major crime or narcotics dealing that you may have knowledge of.      For instance:  You saw on the news where a robbery had been committed and there was video surveillance of the perpetrator shown on the news and you recognized that person.  Maybe you saw someone commiting a crime, maybe you overheard someone bragging about a crime he/she committed, maybe you know someone who is hiding from the police because there is a warrant for their arrest, maybe you have observed marijuana growing in or around someone's house, maybe you know someone who has stolen someone's credit cards or checks and is shopping with them.

When you call 304-255-STOP, your name will not be asked - the first thing the Crime Stoppers personnel will do is to assign you a code number.  That code number is very important - that code number becomes your name to Crime Stoppers, your tip information is filed by that code number.    If you call back later to provide further information about your case or to check on the status, you must identify yourself by that code number.    Without that code number Crime Stoppers personnel will not be able to access your tip file.   

A Tipster should give much thought and consideration to the information that he/she is going to provide to Crime Stoppers.    It is recommended that before you make the call, you try to think of any and all pertinent information regarding the situation.   Jot down tidbits of information before hand so that when you are talking to the Crime Stoppers personnel you will not forget to mention information.  The Crime Stoppers personnel may ask questions that you do not feel are relevant to the situation, but be prepared to answer any and all questions that you can - what may not seem important to you may be important to the police.   Keep this in mind:   The more thorough information that you provide, the better chance that an arrest is going to be made and that you are going to receive a reward!

(Unfortunately, there will be times when the telephone cannot be answered - hopefully these  will be for short periods of time and will be few and far between.   During those times, an answering machine will activate giving the following message:   You have reached Crime Stoppers.  Your call is very important to us, however we cannot take your tip at this time.      Please call back in fifteen minutes.)

FOLLOW-UP:    Frequently, a Tipster is associated closely enough with the criminal that he/she has  reported  on and will be aware if/when an arrest is made or if stolen property or narcotics have been confiscated.   Other times, the Tipster may have to rely on calling Crime Stoppers back to see if an arrest was made.    When calling Crime Stoppers to check on a case, the Tipster must identify him/herself  by the  assigned code number.  The Crime Stoppers personnel will advise as to the status.

REWARD DETERMINATION:   If the police make an arrest or recover property or confiscate drugs based on a tip, they fill out a form and fax to Crime Stoppers advising of same along with the information needed for Crime Stoppers to determine the reward amount.     The reward amount, between $50.00  and  $1,000.00, will be determined by:    

    (1)  Severity of crime 

    (2) Number of charges

    (3) Number of individuals arrested 

    (4)  Amount of drugs/property confiscated or  recovered 

    (5) Role Tipster played in success of solving the crime. 

COLLECTING THE REWARD:    The Tipster will be advised of a certain location and time to meet with Crime Stoppers personnel to collect  his/her reward.    Remember, Crime Stoppers only knows the Tipster as a code number.   Therefore, the Tipster must provide Crime Stoppers personnel with his/her physical description and a description of the clothing that will be worn by the Tipster when collecting the reward.    The Tipster will be advised that when he/she arrives at the designated  location,  an individual carrying an envelope will approach the Tipster, at which time the Tipster will identify him/herself  to the individual by simply stating his/her code number.   The Crime Stoppers personnel will then hand the Tipster the envelope containing the cash reward. 

The Online WebTip

Tipsters now have the option of giving us tips online. The process is completely secure and anonymous and is a very effective and efficient means of safely communicating with us in today's world. Our WebTip process is powered by the world's leading online tip solution provider, Anderson Software.  

The very unique integrated Two-Way Dialog capabilties allow the tipster to come back and provide additional information to their tip at any time, but also provides a secure means for the coordinator to ask questions or provide reward information back to the tipster through the same secure and encrypted interface.

Structure and Funding of Crime Stoppers

Crime Stopper Programs are organized as a not for profit organization. A Board of Directors provides direction as to the financial and promotional activities of the program. The Board of Directors enhances the community involvement aspect, and its function is vital to the programs success.

The Crime Stoppers program is funded by contributions and fundraising. NO TAX DOLLARS are involved.   All contributions are placed in a specific REWARD ACCOUNT  to fund the rewards.    Monies raised from fundraising activities are used to fund general operational expenses of Crime Stoppers, such as telephone bills, printing, annual dues to Southeastern Crime Stoppers, postage, etc..

Does Crime Stoppers Work?

The answer is quite simply YES!  Since the start of Crime Stoppers, many calls have been received resulting in arrests, recovery of stolen  property and confiscation of narcotics.  

Refer to the  "Statistics" to see how successful the program has been. 

The success of a Crime Stoppers program cannot be purely judged on statistics, however, other benefits have come to notice:

• A greater awareness in the community that there is a crime problem.
• A willingness by the community to fight back against crime if it is given the opportunity and motivation.
• Improved relationships between police, media, and the community.

Crime Stoppers is definitely here to stay.  It has been accepted by police as a valid and effective investigative tool and the public, through its overwhelming response, appears to have accepted it is a safe and effective method of giving information.