TEEN CRIME HOT LINE OFFERS CASH

Cedar Rapids high school students have a new way to tell on their
classmates. It comes with cash.

Cedar Rapids police are believed to be the first in Iowa to create a
student hot line to take tips on illegal activity. Teens who call about
classmates they believe to have alcohol, drugs or weapons on school
property get $50 if the police recover anything.

Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said the idea received a thumbs-up from school
administrators and some teens involved in a local anti-violence program.

"It was very timely with all of the school violence," she said. "We don't
want that to happen in Iowa or Cedar Rapids."

Students receive code numbers when they call (800) 272-7463 that allow them
to remain anonymous, Hamblin said.

Megan Brose, 15, said she thought the hot line was a good idea, although
she wasn't sure how many teens would use it, even for $50.

"Some of them might do it because it's the right thing to do," said Brose,
a sophomore at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids.

Joe Schuette, 17, a Washington junior, said the hot line would be effective
only if the callers' names were kept secret.

"If for some reason they're not and names get reported, it could backfire,"
he said.

Aaron Eckley, 16, a sophomore at Boone High School, said he thought the hot
line might be a good idea for his school, too, "but it is kind of
tattletaling, because sometimes kids find out about things that are none of
their business."