CRIME STOPPERS 2,000 ARRESTS AND COUNTING

Since The Program Began Here In 1984, Tips From The Public Have Led To
Arrests For Crimes Ranging From Murder To Fraud And Everything In Between

Propped against his desk is the composite Crime of the Week drawing of
an older man who tried to abduct a woman at a bus stop at Begbie and
Vining streets on Jan. 2. "I want to get him," Const. Mark Poppe says.
And he's hoping a Crime Stoppers tip will lead to an arrest.

Not that he would say if it did.

Crime Stoppers never provides details if or when the familiar
newspaper ads, TV re-enactments or online postings lead to an arrest.
Revealing the timing of a tip might alert a perpetrator to an
informant -- and anonymity is the hallmark of the program.

"If it came out after the fact, how secure do you think that would
make him or her feel?" Poppe asks. "Some of the people that call us
are extremely paranoid. They don't want to take any chance of being
identified."

Web-generated tips are becoming increasingly popular, he says, and
allow the big plus of anonymous follow up e-mail conversations.

Poppe doesn't take any chances with computer confidentiality, even in
police headquarters. "As soon as I walk away, I lock up my terminal."

Poppe, a Saanich police officer for 20 years, is the new guy on the
Crime Stoppers beat. He was seconded Jan. 2 to work with the joint
program that involves police, the media and the community.

"It has such potential to break open a file that has stymied the
police because of lack of information. I really wanted to be a part of
that."

Over the years, Crime Stoppers has cleared more than 2,000 arrests,
including seven murder cases, one attempted murder, 142 robberies, 32
assaults, 222 major thefts, 221 frauds and 725 drug cases.

Anonymous informants have their own reasons for wanting to keep their
identities secret. Poppe wants tipsters calling the three confidential
tip lines to feel comfortable. He wants to draw them out, not
interrogate them.

"When tipsters do call, it can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes to
get the information we need before we're done with the story," Poppe
says. "A lot of time it's not immediately clear what they're trying to
tell us."

Even if it's in the back of his mind that the tipster might have been
a party to the crime, "I don't treat that person any differently --
it's not our job to judge."

"Even our board members have the perception that it's all bad guys
phoning in and they just want money," says Const. Ann Zimmerman, a
21-year police veteran with five years on the Crime Stoppers beat. And
that's not the case.

Some tipsters might be shady characters, but overall, Crime Stoppers
board member Robert Gill thinks it's a mix.

"It's everything from neighbours to people overhearing conversation in
a bar to ex-boyfriends and girlfriends to fringe players (on) the
crime scene. It covers the whole spectrum."

Crime Stoppers targets apathy with prompt cash awards and fear with
scrupulously defended anonymity. Some people just want to pass on the
information so others will be safe. Others want to get something off
their chests.

Tips don't always work out right away.

"Its not unusual that I've had successful tips two years after they've
left the information," Zimmerman says.