Officials with Crime Stoppers Guelph Wellington (CSGW) say recently-released 2015 statistics are a testament to the program’s effectiveness in the community.
Last year, 683 calls and 243 web tips were received by the anonymous, crime reporting program. While not a police organization, CSGW works with Wellington County OPP and Guelph Police Service.
As a result of CSGW tip providers, 20 cases were cleared in 2015, while 105 charges were laid. Since the program started locally in 1988, more than $10 million in personal property has been recovered, with more than $27 million in illegal drugs being seized as a result of tip information.
The board of directors has approved rewards to tip providers in excess of $158,000 – with $5,300 this year alone.
CSGW does not publicize the cases on which they provide information in order to protect tip providers.
”We sometimes hear from people, ‘How do we know that Crime Stoppers actually works?’” said program coordinator Sarah Bowers-Peter. “We tell them that the stats speak for themselves. As you can see, with the help of tipsters, we can say that Crime Stoppers tips have likely solved a crime in just about every corner of Wellington County and the City of Guelph.”
Increased awareness of the program, along with the public’s desire to keep their community safe, will see CSGW’s numbers increase again in 2016, says Bowers-Peter.
“When people see crime stop because they made a call, they believe in the process,” she said.
Anyone with information about a crime can call 1-800-222-TIPS or visit csgw.tips.
