CRIME STOPPERS OF HALTON CREDITED WITH RECOVERING $5 MILLION IN DRUGS

Crime Stoppers of Halton is credited with taking firearms off the street
and recovering millions of dollars worth of drugs in 2002, says the program
co-ordinator.

Out of 498 tips received last year, 65 arrests were made and 83 criminal
charges laid, said Sgt. Peter Payne.

"Last year was a particularly successful year," he said. "We got three
firearms off the streets and recovered $5 million worth of drugs. The
recovery of narcotics alone is impressive."

Although the number up tips was done from 611 in 2001, "we've been blessed
with a lot of good quality tips," he said.

Since 1988, Sgt. Payne said about 6,000 tips have been generated in Halton,
590 people have been arrested and 1,320 cases have been cleared.

"We've recovered $1.4 million worth of property and $7.8 million in
narcotics," he said.

The statistics were released in conjunction with Crime Stoppers Month in
January.

Although Crime Stoppers of Halton has been successful since its conception
in 1988, more work needs to be done to create awareness of the program,
Sgt. Payne said.

With that in mind, newly-designed bumper stickers are being placed on the
back of Halton police cars this month. The stickers bear the Crime Stoppers
logo and phone number.

About 6,000 coasters with the same information are also being distributed
to various bars throughout the region. Both initiatives are new to the program.

Sgt. Payne said the goal of Crime Stoppers Month is to make the anonymous
tip line a household name.

"It should be something people become more familiar with. We travel to
schools and we're always looking for people to invite us to come. That's a
key piece to the puzzle."

When individuals contact Crime Stoppers, they're given a code to act as a
means of identification. It's then up to the tipster to call back to check
on the status of the case in order to receive the reward money.

"We don't have any interest in finding out who the tipsters are," Sgt.
Payne said. "We don't have call display."

Rewards up to $1,000 are given if an arrest has been made, he said, adding
most chose not to accept the money.

"Most people are not collecting the rewards. I'd say a little over one
third of the approved rewards are collected. It doesn't surprise me because
a lot of people feel it's their civic duty to participate. Most don't want
to take that extra step in going to court but they don't want drug dealers
in their neighbourhoods either. They're not in it for the money. They're in
it for providing a safer community to live and work."

High profile murder cases, like the case of Burlington resident Matthew
Daly who was killed in May of 2001, usually generate a significant amount
of tips, he said.

One of the cases Sgt. Payne said he would have liked to see more tips
provided was for was the murder of Georgetown resident Pauvo Henttonen, who
was stabbed to death in May.

"It's not my belief that there are people out there who haven't called who
have information. Unfortunately for Mr. Henttonen, he just recently moved
to Georgetown. That could have been a contributing factor (in generating
tips). Maybe he didn't know a lot of people in the community."

Sgt. Payne said he didn't have a lot of prior knowledge about Crime
Stoppers of Halton before taking over as co-ordinator in July. "This
program is completely run by the community, not the police, aside from the
office space for the co-ordinator."