How it Works
Crime Stoppers relies on cooperation between the police, the media, and the general community to provide a flow of information about crime and criminals. By guaranteeing a Tipster's anonymity, Crime Stoppers allows the Tipster to give information in a positive atmosphere without the prospect of retaliation. By offering cash rewards, the program encourages otherwise reluctant Tipsters to provide information.
Here is how you, the citizen, can participate:
THE TIP: Submit your tip On-Line at www.crimestopperswv.com. When you complete the form you are given a tip # and a password of your choosing ; you can check the status of your tip online at anytime.
Crime Stoppers' 24-hour tip line number is: 304-255-STOP (304-255-7867). The telephone does not provide caller ID, conversations are not recorded and we do not subscribe with the telephone company to have the capability to track where a telephone call originated. Crime Stoppers would not breach the confidence of the Tipsters because this would ruin the integrity of the Crime Stoppers program.
REWARD DETERMINATION: If the police make an arrest or recover property or confiscate drugs based on a tip, they fill out a form and fax to Crime Stoppers advising of same along with the information needed for Crime Stoppers to determine the reward amount. The reward amount, between $50.00 and $5,000.00, will be determined by:
(1) Severity of crime
(2) Number of charges
(3) Number of individuals arrested
(4) Amount of drugs/property confiscated or recovered
(5) Role Tipster played in success of solving the crime.
COLLECTING THE REWARD: Tip rewards are given at a predetermined location . If your tip lead to an arrest you will be notified regarding time to collect.
The Online WebTip: Tipsters now have the option of giving us tips online. The process is completely secure and anonymous and is a very effective and efficient means of safely communicating with us in today's world. Our WebTip process is powered by the world's leading online tip solution provider, Anderson Software.
The very unique integrated Two-Way Dialog capabilities allow the tipster to come back and provide additional information to their tip at any time, but also provides a secure means for the coordinator to ask questions or provide reward information back to the tipster through the same secure and encrypted interface.
Structure and Funding of Crime Stoppers: Crime Stopper Programs are organized as a not for profit organization. A Board of Directors provides direction as to the financial and promotional activities of the program. The Board of Directors enhances the community involvement aspect, and its function is vital to the programs success.
The Crime Stoppers program is funded by contributions and fundraising. NO TAX DOLLARS are involved. All contributions are placed in a specific REWARD ACCOUNT to fund the rewards. Monies raised from fundraising activities are used to fund general operational expenses of Crime Stoppers, such as telephone bills, printing, annual dues to Southeastern Crime Stoppers, postage, etc..
Does Crime Stoppers Work? The answer is quite simply YES! Since the start of Crime Stoppers, many calls have been received resulting in arrests, recovery of stolen property and confiscation of narcotics. Refer to the "Statistics" to see how successful the program has been.
The success of a Crime Stoppers program cannot be purely judged on statistics, however, other benefits have come to notice:
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A greater awareness in the community that there is a crime problem.
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A willingness by the community to fight back against crime if it is given the opportunity and motivation.
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Improved relationships between police, media, and the community.
Crime Stoppers is definitely here to stay. It has been accepted by police as a valid and effective investigative tool and the public, through its overwhelming response, appears to have accepted it is a safe and effective method of giving information.