CRIME STOPPERS FOUNDER VISITS B.C.

Program Celebrates 21 Years In Province; 30Th Anniversary In U.S.

They've led to the arrests of over 132,200 suspects across Canada,
helped solve 216,900 cases and assisted in recovering $2.5 billion in
drugs and stolen property.

In B.C. alone they've aided in 16,919 arrests, 24,550 closed cases and
the capture of $580 million in goods.

The crime fighters responsible for these statistics don't carry badges
- -- they're the citizens-turned-informants who call Crime Stoppers.

"The phone is the public's weapon against crime. The real bullets are
information," said Greg MacAleese, the U.S. police officer who founded
the program in 1976.

The Ontario-native was in Vancouver to mark the 30th anniversary of
the program in the U.S. and 21 years of Crime Stoppers in B.C.

In the coming decades, MacAleese thinks Crime Stoppers can play a
greater role fighting terrorism, drug and human trafficking.

"Traditionally, we've been involved in street crime. That's been our
bread and butter. But there's a need to educate the public about what
else they should be looking for," he said.

MacAleese started the program in Albuquerque, N.M., when he needed
help solving the murder of a college student who was shot in a gas-
station robbery.

Frustrated by poor co-operation, MacAleese created a video
re-enactment, promised anonymity and a reward for leads. A few hours
after broadcast, they got a tip and made an arrest within 72 hours.
Even so, MacAleese said it was a struggle to gain police support.

"They were afraid it wouldn't work and they had a philosophical
argument, 'Why are we paying citizens to do their civic duty?' My
reply was, 'Citizens have abandoned their civic duty. We as a police
department have to reach out to them.'"

Today, there are some 1,400 programs in 23 countries, including
Europe, Central America, the Caribbean and South Africa. Chapters are
slated for India, Thailand and Japan this year.

The first Canadian chapter formed in Calgary in 1982. B.C. followed
suit in Victoria and Vancouver in 1985. There are now 100 chapters in
Canada and 39 in B.C.

Former Vancouver police chief Bob Stewart brought it to B.C. after
learning of it at a police conference.

"I immediately saw the benefit," he said. "When people ask me how
valuable it is, I always say if you have a homicide and 10 detectives
assigned to it and they work for three months, figure out what the
cost is. But what if within the first hour after the crime you get a
hot tip that leads you to the killer?"

B.C. Crime Stoppers president and Greater Vancouver chapter director
Shirley Stocker said there's still wariness among immigrant and ethnic
communities, who may have lingering distrust of police.

"My role is to try to get the public to embrace the program," she said.

To that end, the Greater Vancouver chapter became the first to enable
reporting in 116 languages.

In 20 years, B.C. paid $1.5 million in rewards to recover a
half-billion dollars in drugs and property. Across Canada, $13.2
million in rewards netted $2.5 billion in goods.

"Less than 50 per cent of the people who are eligible for a reward
ever pick it up," MacAleese said.

"At this point in time, people call Crime Stoppers because they know
it works . . . that's far more important than the reward. Citizens are
accepting their responsibility."

CRIME STOPPERS FACTS

Crime Stoppers tipsters are guaranteed anonymity: They don't have to
give names or phone numbers or testify in court. In fact, in 1997 the
Supreme Court of Canada ruled the identity of Crime Stoppers tipsters
must be protected. There is no call display, calls are not recorded
and call-takers are civilians, not police. Tipsters are assigned code
numbers. Callers can leave tips in 116 languages and can collect up to
$2,000 if a tip leads to a charge.