Most Wanted 2nd Anniversary - site continues to be a big 'hit'

[21st November 2007]

• 310 arrests and charges made since November 2005
• First Scottish appeal featured
• Over 100m hits to the website
• Over 1,600 appeals featured

In the two years since the charity Crimestoppers' Most Wanted website was launched in November 2005, 310 arrests and charges have been made as a direct result of appeals being featured on the site.

20% of these can be attributed to information received via the Crimestoppers anonymous telephone number. These arrests include crimes of murder, rape, robbery, drug smuggling, assault and burglary.

This week marks an important milestone for Most Wanted with the very first Scottish appeal appearing on the site. Florine Naline Hamilton or Palmer is wanted by Grampian Police for failing to appear at the High Court in Aberdeen during September 2002, on charges of supplying class ‘A' drugs.

The site has proved to be very successful with the public and the media, and so far over 100m hits have been recorded with an average of just over 5m hits a month. Most Wanted has featured 1,600 appeals with 300 currently being featured on the site.

Another successful aspect of Most Wanted is Crimestoppers' Operation Captura a pilot project which targets British criminals in Spain's Costa del Sol who are wanted by UK law enforcement. To date six individuals featured have been brought back to the criminal justice system in the UK. A further campaign with fresh appeals will be launched in Alicante soon.

The Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP), who works in partnership with Crimestoppers' Most Wanted, announced last week that in its first year of appealing for sex offenders on the site, nine of the UK's highest risk offenders were located as a direct result.

www.mostwanted-uk.org is the only national online resource of suspected criminals wanted by the police brought together under one roof. The public can view photographs, CCTV footage and descriptions of suspects and then if they recognise someone they can contact the police. Or if they wish to remain anonymous, they can complete an online form, or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Dave Cording, Crimestoppers Director of Operations, said: “Crimestoppers is very proud about the high number of arrests and charges that Most Wanted has brought about. The high success rate reinforces the need for such a service aimed at bringing criminals to justice. We know that the pressure from being featured on the site has been instrumental in some offenders giving themselves up. The reach of the Internet also means there is nowhere for criminals to hide with offenders being identified following calls from Europe and Africa.

Ends

To arrange interviews with Crimestoppers spokespeople contact Hannah Daws, Communications Manager – Crimestoppers on 020 8254 3230/07900 694904 or hannah.daws@crimestoppers-uk.org

Notes to editors

Crimestoppers is an independent charity dedicated to solving crimes and taking criminals off the streets. Around 17 people are arrested and charged every day as a result of information given to Crimestoppers. One person every 5 days is charged with murder, as a result of information given to Crimestoppers. Since Crimestoppers began in 1988, it has received almost 950,000 calls with useful information, resulting in over 80,000 arrests and charges. Over £100 million worth of property has been recovered and over £142 million worth of drugs. Crimestoppers UK was founded by Lord Ashcroft KCMG, Chairman of Trustees. In 1988 he launched Crimestoppers in the Metropolitan Police area. Crimestoppers is built on a three-way partnership between the business community, the police and the media.