CRIME STOPPERS MARKS MILESTONES IN 2003: 250 CHARGES, 67 ARRESTS

Local News - Crime Stoppers Quinte Inc. had every reason to celebrate
Thursday night at the Ramada Inn.

The organization, with its mission to bring criminals to justice and
recover property and goods lost to criminals, made a large dent in criminal
activity in 2003 - all because of tips received from the general public.

Helen Solomon, Crime Stoppers vice-president, told a gathering of about 80
people attending its appreciation night that many major crimes are not only
solved by the investigations of the police service, but also as a direct
result of information provided by the public.

"Many citizens are reluctant to provide information out of fear and
apathy," she said. "Crime Stoppers allows callers to remain completely
anonymous and provides cash awards for information leading to the solution
of major crimes."

Solomon said the organization has steadily shown, by its repeated
successes, "that it is a valuable tool in assisting police agencies within
our area to solve crimes, arrest the perpetrators, recover stolen property
and seize illegal drugs."

Last year, for example, the local branch of the community-based
crime-fighting program received 884 calls which directly resulted in more
than 250 charges, 67 arrests and the closure of 50 unsolved criminal cases.

Stolen property worth $25,800 was recovered, and more than $7.5 million in
narcotics was seized.

Crime Stoppers authorized $9,350 to be paid to the tipsters as reward money.

Since the program was introduced in this area in 1988, police have made
1,079 arrests, laid 2,768 charges, solved 1,370 cases, recovered $1.6
million in stolen property, seized $21.5 million in narcotics and doled out
$161,468 in reward money.

Solomon said Crime Stoppers relies heavily on the support of the media
which, in turn, publishes and broadcasts information about Crime Stoppers'
success stories, and promotes public awareness for the program as a
community service.

"The more the media promotes the Crime Stoppers program, the more tips we
receive," said Solomon. "From our statistics, it is clear that the number
of calls we receive is directly proportional to the publicity we receive -
whether it is in newspapers, on radio or local cable television.

"We profusely thank you (media) for your invaluable support," she said.

Const. Mark Harry, an eight-year member of the Belleville Police Service
and a member of Project Longarm was the guest speaker. He told the audience
that tips from informants - similar to what Crime Stoppers would receive
from the general public - led police to bust two marijuana "grow houses" in
Stanley Park in late 2001.

The homes at 116 Hickory Grove and 48 Hemlock St. appeared to be normal
homes in the subdivision, Harry said.

"Every house had snow on the roof except for the house at 116 Hickory
Grove. It was pretty obvious what was going on inside," he said.

The owners of the Hemlock Street residence had the home built for them.
They moved into the house Nov. 15, 2001, and when police executed the
search warrant, Dec. 17, the marijuana plants were almost ready to go to
market.

Besides the laying of criminal charges, Harry said police seized the home
and the owners lost their $50,000 down payment.

Harry said community stakeholders are affected by the increasing number of
grow operations.

Public utility firms are hit with illegal hydro consumption and fire
hazards, real estate property values drop and there is an increased cost on
policing, court costs and even insurance rates for the public.

Then there's the danger of drugs hitting the open market, he noted.

"Obviously, we don't want the drugs here... we are trying to reduce the
number of grow operations."

Harry said Project Longarm is making an impact on the drug trade in the
Quinte area. Drugs worth $12 million were seized by the special drug unit
in its first year but that has grown to more than $20 million a year for
the past few years.