Case study: Coronation Street's Ken Barlow
William Roache MBE is Coronation Street's Ken Barlow and Patron of Crimestoppers in the North West
Coronation Street star William Roache has been supporting Crimestoppers in the North West for almost ten years.
William worries about the number of people who are in difficult situations because members of their family are involved in crime.
That's why he's such a keen supporter of Crimestoppers - to make sure that these people know they can call the charity to pass on information about crime completely anonymously.
Latest Crimestoppers statistics*
The following statistics are Crimestoppers official year-end statistics, from April 2007 until the end of March 2008:
6,237 criminals have been arrested and charged
81,690 calls to Crimestoppers with useful information
£13,225, 631 worth of illegal drugs have been seized
£13,225,631 worth of stolen goods have been recovered
In particular:
47 people have been arrested and charged for murder
400 people have been arrested and charged fro drink driving
81 people have been arrested and charged for firearms offences
M25 rapist
A Crimestoppers success story
Antoni Imiela was labelled the ‘M25 rapist' after his violent, year-long raping spree, when he attacked girls and women – from a 10-year-old to a 52-year-old.
His harrowing campaign, which started in November 2001 spanned four counties - Kent, Surrey, west London and Hertfordshire. Imiela sparked the largest joint inquiry since the Yorkshire Ripper hunt in the late 1970's.
One call to Crimestoppers went on to solve the case. Kathleen Sherwood, a neighbour of Imiela's, called Crimestoppers and passed on Imiela's name after he tried to attack her in her own home. Sherwood then went public with her story and was a witness at Imiela's trial.
Imiela was arrested in December 2002 and in March 2004 he was convicted of seven rapes, the kidnap, indecent assault and attempted rape of a 10-year-old girl and received seven life sentences.
Read more Crimestoppers case studies in our 20th Anniversary press pack