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In the summer of 1976 violent crime in Albuquerque, New Mexico was on the rise. The public was scared to get involved. The police were having a hard time apprehending bandits.
In July of 1976, things came to a head when a young university student was brutally murdered during a robbery at the gas station where he worked. Police were able to determine no clear reason why this young man was shot to death. It appeared as though he was murdered only to eliminate him as a witness to the robbery. Canadian-born police detective, Greg MacAleese of the Albuquerque City Police Department was assigned the case.
MacAleese, frustrated by the lack of investigative leads in this senseless killing, reasoned that the public must have information that would assist in solving this case. Realizing that general apathy and fear of retaliation were the two major reasons why the public didn't get involved, MacAleese had an idea.
He approached his local cable television company and asked them to tape a "staged re-enactment" of the crime scene and then air the segment during the following 24 hour period. MacAleese established a "tips-line" on which he would receive telephone calls in relation to this murder and, to overcome apathy, MacAleese offered a cash reward from his own pocket for information that would help lead to the capture of suspects.
The idea worked and the suspects in this homicide were brought to
justice. And thus, the first Crime Stoppers program was born.
Today there are over 500 accredited Crime Stoppers programs world-wide.
More than 90 of these programs can be found in Canada, with 39 having
roots in Ontario.
A group of dedicated, concerned citizens work with the program to form a Civilian Board of Directors. It is the duty of this board to monitor the administrative activities, to solicit and control funding and determine reward payouts for succesful Crime Stoppers tips.
This group of people is the backbone behind the Crime Stoppers
program and without them, the program would cease to exist.
Crime Stoppers of Haldimand-Norfolk and Tillsonburg, Inc. was founded in January 1988. It encompasses the entire region of Haldimond-Norfolk and the Town of Tillsonburg. This means that it's boundaries stretch from the Region of Niagara westward into Oxford Township and from the shoreline of Lake Erie north to the edge of the Region of Hamilton-Wentworth. There are just under 100,000 people who reside in this area and benefit from the Crime Stoppers program.
This program utilizes the services of three area police departments; over 20 local media outlets and many other investigative agencies (such as social services, Insurance Crime Prevention Bureau, etc.).
To date, Crime Stoppers of Haldimand-Norfolk and Tillsonburg, Inc. is one of the only programs in the world to receive International Productivity Awards every year since it's first one in 1990. Some of these awards include the most arrests, the greatest dollar value for recovered property/narcotics and most improved program. This program has also been honoured with several provincial and international media awards as well for it's outstanding work.
The constant support which the Crime Stoppers
program receives from it's partners make it one
of the most successful
Crime Stoppers programs in the world.
To date, this success can be measured in over 10 million dollars worth of
narcotics being seized, over 2 million dollars worth of stolen property
being recovered and 2,300 arrests being made in the Region of
Haldimand-Norfolk and the Town of Tillsonburg.
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