Pubdate: Wed, 08 Feb 2012 Source: Strathmore Standard (CN AB) Copyright: 2012 Strathmore Standard Contact: http://www.strathmorestandard.com/feedback1/LetterToEditor.aspx Website: http://www.strathmorestandard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3322 Author: Kirsten Mundy, Standard Editor TIPS HELP STOP CRIME Although most people would hope to never have information the police want, that is exactly what the authorities need to close almost two cases a day. With the help of Crime Stoppers, tips from the general public have been responsible for closing those cases, taking over $75,000 of drugs off the streets every day, and overall making our streets a little safer. "What information do we want? We want all the information," said Terry Hathaway with the Calgary Crime Stoppers office, which is the branch responsible for Strathmore. Hathaway explained that they are presently working on educating the public about what exactly they do, and how they operate. The biggest hurdle for them, he said, is informing people about the service they provide. "We are not part of a police force... Although obviously we do work very closely with them they have no control or say over what the program does, or doesn't do," said Hathaway. "Our role is simply to provide a conduit for people to pass on information to the police about unsolved crimes, and to remain anonymous while they do so." That service, and the 10 people a day who use it, are how the police across Canada are able to fill in some of the holes while investigating crimes. Hathaway said all information is helpful, no matter how small or big a tip might be. The work Crime Stoppers does isn't all about what is said by the tipsters, said Hathaway, it's also about what isn't said. "The anonymity is kind of the crucial backbone of our work," said Hathaway. "We don't want to know your name in any way, shape or form." To ensure that the people giving the tips are completely anonymous, Hathaway said they use all the latest technology to scrub the data from phone calls, emails or the text messages people can send. There is also a brand new option for those with information and smart phones, Crime Stoppers has an app that you can download and use to give the police information. "They are essentially scrubbed and secured with the best technology that is out there to have the identity of the source erased from any information we have," said Hathaway, who said the police know that and are unable to even ask who or where the tip came from. "We have absolutely no way of identifying who our tipsters are. We don't actually have that information. We're the only service out there that can essentially guarantee anonymity." Ultimately though, Hathaway said their program only works because they get so many tips, and in the end those tips give the police the extra information they needed to close a case. "Sometimes people worry that the information they have is not important, or is not large enough, or they think somebody already knows, and what we like to tell the public when they ask those questions is that every piece of information is crucial to an investigation, even wrong information," said Hathaway. With such a variety of calls, and ways people can contact Crime Stoppers, Hathaway said he hopes more people are comfortable calling in the future. "The information you have is important," said Hathaway. "It's not up to the citizens to decide how important it is, it's up to the police to make that decision, because they're the only ones with all the information." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.