LOCAL CRIME STOPPERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

In July of 1976 the Crime Stoppers program began as an effort to use
the media to help solve the brutal slaying of a young gas station
attendant in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The two criminals who shot down Michael Carman at point blank range
with a 12 gauge shotgun, did not realize that as a result of that
cold-blooded killing, a world-wide anti-crime movement would
materialize and would later become known as Crime Stoppers.

Manitoba Crime Stoppers was incorporated in 1985 and in 1993 a group
of community minded citizens of Beausejour took up the challenge and
launched the program in our community.

The Beausejour Community Crime Stoppers program (as it is now known)
is a branch of Manitoba Crime Stoppers and we might add (to blow our
own horn a little) one of the most successful Crime Stoppers programs
in Manitoba.

Locally a group of volunteers made up of housewives, retired persons,
professionals, youth and blue collar workers, volunteer some of their
valuable time to keep this program viable. As volunteers we work to
raise funds in our community and surrounding areas and in turn use the
monies raised to promote Crime Stoppers and subsidize local and
international programs such as DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education),
being taught in our schools to our grade six students by the R.C.M.P.,
TAAD (Teens Against Drunk Driving), and Child Find photo I.D. We have
also allocated grants to our local Heritage Museum to enable them to
enhance their security and to help with the bike identification
program and church youth programs.

All monies raised in our community are used in our community for the
benefit of one and all.

It should also be noted that the Edward Schreyer School is one of the
28 rural Manitoba schools where the Crime Stoppers program has been
presented to our youth.

Crime Stoppers works, below are some statistics for the Beausejour
area from January 1, 2005 - December 31, 2005.

Tips received: 72; Cases cleared: 16; Stolen property recovered:
$29,560.00; Illegal narcotics seized: $1,072,000.00; Rewards approved:
$2425.00.

These same statistics for Manitoba's entire program, excluding the
cities of Winnipeg and Brandon are as follows:

Tips received: 398; Cases cleared: 89; Stolen property recovered:
$87,713.00; Illegal narcotics seized: $18,037,980.00; Rewards
approved: $12,475.00.

These statistics are mind boggling to most of us, but only represent
the tip of the iceberg. They do however show us that our Crime
Stoppers program works and is a very effective tool in the war against
crime.

Will you, Mr. and Mrs. Manitoba citizen, help your children,
yourselves and our communities by using this very effective tool in
crime fighting and prevention? To use this program to report a crime,
to alert authorities or to offer assistance in solving a crime, call
1-800-222-8477.

Remeber this program is based on anonymity, when you use the Crime
Stoppers tip number, you remain completely anonymous.

After reading this article we hope you might say to yourself "could I
spare a little time, how can I help?" To lend a hand in our community
call 268-2035.

Crime Stoppers wishes to thank our local media for their help and
support over the years and also would like to convey a very special
thank you to our business community for their very generous support
over the years. We know that our many local merchants will continue to
support this very worthwhile program in future years. Once again, our
sincere thanks.

We would be remiss if we did not also say thank you to each and every
one of our local and surrounding area citizens; your help and support
over the years has kept this program going strong.

Keep on using this tool and stomp out crime in our community.