STUDENTS URGED TO DIAL TIP LINE IN EFFORT TO CURB CRIME IN THEIR SCHOOLS

Crime Stoppers provincial co-ordinator Paul Stetson says anonymous
calls could also help turn around lives of wayward peers in junior and
senior high schools.

Prince Edward Island students are being urged to pick up the phone to
help curb crime in their schools.

Paul Stetson, provincial co-ordinator for P.E.I. Crime Stoppers, wants
to see this tipster vehicle have a strong presence in Island high
schools and junior highs.

"What we want to see from those (schools) is they keep the programs
out and running in front of the new students as they come in,'' he
said of active Crime Stoppers school chapters.

Stetson was recently at East Wiltshire intermediate school as part of
awareness presentations to students that included a skit by members of
the school's drama club as well as gentle pleas from Stetson, a police
officer and a youth service worker aimed at encouraging the students
to dial the tip line when they become aware of a crime.

Students were told they could help reduce crime in their school by
calling Crime Stoppers while in the process perhaps also helping turn
around the life of a wayward peer by bringing a halt to their criminal
activity.

Garrett Vessey, 14, of Cornwall, a Grade 9 member of the Crime
Stoppers committee at East Wiltshire, got involved to help reduce the
level of crime in his school.

He said the committee works to spread awareness of the tipster
organization among students. He believes the committee has found a
receptive audience.

"They listen, I think,'' he said.

The presentation Thursday certainly caught the ear of at least a
handful of students.

Paul MacKinnon, a youth service worker at East Wiltshire, said five
students requested the Crime Stoppers tip number following the
assembly, noting they each had something to report.

While he lauds East Wiltshire as being, for the most part, a safe and
positive school, MacKinnon concedes the place is not immune to crime.

He estimates, for example, that between $3,000 and $5,000 worth of
IPODs alone have been stolen at East Wiltshire since Christmas.

Cellphones have also been snatched.

His main concern, though, is keeping narcotics out of the
school.

"We don't want it to turn into a drug-based environment,'' he
said.

Stetson said Crime Stoppers receives about 30 calls a year from Island
students.

The most prevalent tips centre on identifying people who are selling
drugs and informing as to where drugs are being sold.

Tips on vandalism and bullying are also common.

"You can't act on a Crime Stoppers tip alone,'' Stetson
explained.

"You can't get a search warrant. It goes in with other information
that the police have. It's usually a starting point for a police
investigator.''

Still, Stetson said between 20 and 25 per cent of tips from students
result in incidents being resolved either through police action or
school administration.

He said students who call the tip line don't face any retaliation from
their peers because they remain anonymous.

They also become eligible for a cash award if their call leads to a
case being solved.

"I would think it would be more that they are doing the right thing,
more so than the money,'' he added.

Here in P.E.I., people, including students, can contact Crime Stoppers
at 1-800-222-8477.