Is Crimestoppers the new way to beat the credit crunch

[May 2009]

This week, Steve Bird of The Times wrote an article about Crimestoppers' end of year statistics. The article, which he called 'Crimestoppers pays out record sum as callers swap tip-offs for cash', raises a possible link between the recession and people claiming Crimestoppers' reward monies. In a similar article for The Independent, Rob Sharp suggests that contacting Crimestoppers is 'the latest recession-busting money spinner'. Is Crimestoppers really the new way to beat the credit crunch?

The articles were written off the back of Crimestoppers' new statistics being published, highlighting the charity's recent crime-fighting success. From March 2008 – April 2009, 85 murder cases in the UK, including 1 in 5 in London, were solved as a result of information given anonymously to Crimestoppers. These convictions contributed to the 19 arrests Crimestoppers information leads to every day.

As well as a rise in arrest rates, there has been an increase in the amount of reward money Crimestoppers has paid out. Last financial year more than £35,000 was claimed by individuals who had supplied Crimestoppers with information leading to a conviction. This is the largest amount paid out in 11 years. The last time reward monies were this high was during the economic downturn of the 1990's. That said, in total only 1% of those who could claim rewards, do. This figure sits at 80% in the United States of America.

The Times' piece also discusses our call handling facility, where 30 staff members receive up to 600 calls a day. As you can imagine, there are a few random calls amongst the valuable ones. For instance, one call handler reported a very sane sounding gentleman reporting that he had just seen Osama bin Laden in Tesco. Drug users have used the anonymous Crimestoppers number to complain about their dealers; one complained his dealer had sold him “skunk that was tree bark.” In another example, a concerned motorist reported a driver with two broken arms and a leg in a splint on a motorway. This tale in particular highlights when people should and shouldn't call Crimestoppers. Neither the Crimestoppers website or phone number should be used to report information requiring urgent attention. In the above example, the driver should have called 999 to ensure the offending driver was taken off the road as quickly as possible, thus minimising the risk of an accident and injury.

To read 'Crimestoppers pays out record sum as callers swap tip-offs for cash in full', visit the Times website.

To read, 'Crimestoppers: The new way to beat the credit crunch', visit the Independent's website.