In 1988, Calgary hosted the 15th Winter Olympics, the Edmonton Oilers won their fourth Stanley Cup, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney won another majority and, in Guelph-Wellington, the Crime-Stoppers movement was born.
Now, 30 years later, Crime Stoppers Guelph-Wellington (CSGW) is holding a celebration at Murphy Park in Mount Forest on Aug. 3 to celebrate.
Crime Stoppers was started in 1976, originating in New Mexico, to provide a way for people to report crimes anonymously.
The program spread quickly throughout the U.S., then to Canada, Britain, South Africa and Australia. There are over 1,700 Crime Stoppers boards in 32 countries.
In Ontario, the program started in 1983. Now, 39 Crime Stoppers boards cover the province and are linked through the national toll-free telephone number.
There was interest in beginning a Guelph-Wellington chapter as early as 1985, but the board was incorporated in 1988.
“Crime Stoppers as a whole was infiltrating into Canada in the early to mid-80s, and it was really one of those things that took local interest to bring it to the community,” said CSGW program coordinator Sarah Bowers-Peter.
“Other communities were doing it, and it was seen as being successful.”
CSGW is made up of 12 civilian volunteers responsible for the decision-making and fundraising for the program. There are two civilian coordinators, whose roles are compensated by the Guelph Police Service and Wellington County OPP.
Together, they help “promote awareness within the community and continue to educate our students and the public in making our community safer,” states the CSGW mission.
The concept of Crime Stoppers hasn’t changed over the years. Those who have information about a crime can call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) to provide it with guaranteed anonymity. There is no call display, no *69, no recorded conversations.
Bowers-Peter said the phone they use is a basic punch-dial phone that has no display. Tipsters are given a confidential code number. The information collected is given to the police and if it leads to an arrest or closed case, the tipster is eligible for a cash reward between $50 and $2,000.
“If you can understand the concept of the anonymity, the concept of getting a cash reward and the compulsion of civic duty … that’s the core really, the nugget of what Crime Stoppers really is,” said Bowers-Peter
Promoting Crime Stoppers hasn’t been an easy road. In the early days, when the program wasn’t widely known, fundraising was a challenge.
“Some board members were actually personally contributing to the success financially of the program to make sure it could stay viable,” said Bowers-Peter.
Now, CSGW deals with public skepticism about anonymity.
“It’s a real education process … Back in the day, I’m sure everybody realized, ‘Well, of course, you don’t know who I am,’ because there was never call display or call trace,” said Bowers-Peter. “Now the education part is explaining to people that we are rejecting that; we don’t want to know who you are.”
Board member Deryck West added anonymity is an important aspect.
“Some people want to give the information, but they don’t necessarily want to get involved with having to appear in court or talk to a police officer face to face because of potential reprisals … especially in smaller communities,” West said.
Bowers-Peter said the tips received are information, not evidence, and help point the investigating officer in the right direction.
“People will sit back and say ‘why should I report it, why should I do something?’ – because it is a brave thing to come forward and give that kind of information,” she said.
“Look at it from the victim’s perspective and say if that happened to someone I cared or loved, I would want someone to step forward and say something.”
To celebrate 30 years in the community, CSGW is hosting a flag raising and barbecue in Mount Forest on Aug. 3. The flag raising will take place at the Mount Forest Museum and Archives at 10:30am. From 11am to 1pm, a free barbecue and celebration, including cake and more, will take place at Murphy Park.
