Crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers is offering a £50,000 reward today for crucial information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the murder of police officer, Ronan Kerr. [5 April 2011]

The 25-year-old was killed when an explosive device detonated under his car in Omagh, County Tyrone.

The device exploded under the vehicle in Highfield Close, just before 4pm on Saturday 2 April.

"A despicable crime"

Dave Cording, Deputy Chief Executive at Crimestoppers, said: “Crimestoppers takes all murders and manslaughters extremely seriously. In this incident a Police Officer who was willing to stand up and serve his community has had his life tragically cut short. This is a despicable crime, and for that reason a reward of up to £50,000 is being offered to anyone who can supply us with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for this crime.  

“I hope the offenders will be swiftly brought to justice and would urge anyone with information to contact the charity, Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through our online form. No personal details are taken and communication routes are not traced or recorded – no one will know who you are.”

Anonymity guarantee

Crimestoppers is not part of the police. It is an independent charity.

Every call is treated with absolute anonymity. The information given is passed onto the police in such a way that it does not identify the caller.

Rewards are also paid without compromising a caller's anonymity

The incident is being investigated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

Reward conditions

The reward of up to £50,000 is available to anyone providing information to Crimestoppers, which leads to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for this crime. 

Rewards can only be claimed by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Rewards cannot be claimed if giving information via the online form. You can call Crimestoppers from outside the UK on +441883 731 335. Please note that calls to this number will not be free of charge.

-ENDS-
 
For further information contact Crimestoppers' press office.

Notes to Editors:
 
About Crimestoppers

• Crimestoppers is an independent charity which helps the police to solve crimes, making communities safer. It does this by operating the 24/7 telephone number 0800 555 111 which people can ring to pass on information about crimes anonymously. They can also use our ‘giving information’ form via our website www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
• Around 21 people are arrested and charged every day as a result of information given to Crimestoppers. One person every six days is charged with murder.
• Since Crimestoppers began in 1988, it has received over a million actionable calls, resulting in over 100,000 arrests and charges. Over £114 million worth of property has been recovered and over £203 million worth of drugs.
• In 2005, Crimestoppers launched the UK’s Most Wanted on its website which allows the public to view images of criminals and pass on vital information about their whereabouts. It has been highly successful with over 1000 arrests to date from over 5,000 thousand appeals posted.
• Crimestoppers UK was founded by Lord Ashcroft, KCMG, Chairman of Trustees. In 1988, he launched Crimestoppers in the Metropolitan Police area. Crimestoppers ‘call to action’ is built on a three-way partnership between the business community, the police and the media.