A small bit of information could be the missing puzzle piece. That’s all it could take for Crime Stoppers Simcoe-Dufferin-Muskoka to help solve a case. January is Crime Stoppers month, and the non-profit civilian organization is raising awareness about its service.
Police Coordinator Leslie Woodley says it’s very important for community members to call in any tips they may have about a crime.
Woodley says Crime Stoppers has a lot of success in the community. She says people don’t want to see theft or crimes happen where they live, so they’ll call Crime Stoppers. And, she says all tips are useful.
The numbers for Crime Stoppers are mainly on the rise for the area as well. Around 590 more tips were received in 2017 when compared to the year before. There were 96 more arrests made in 2017 compared to 2016. The only category that saw a decrease in numbers is cases cleared, which dropped by 14 from 2016 to 2017. The category that saw the biggest jump was the number of charges laid; going from 389 in 2016 to 796 last year.
When it comes to cash, $22,470 was given to tipsters in 2016 and $28,355 in 2017. Since its inception in 1987, over $370,000 in reward money was awarded.