Put simply, it is a tripartite approach to solving the crime problem. It relies on co-operation between the police, the media and the general community to provide a flow of information about crime and criminals. This is complemented by further reports in various daily, suburban and country newspapers. As the public are becoming more attuned to the concept, there has been a large increase in the percentage of calls relating to crimes other than the weekly target crime. By guaranteeing a caller's anonymity, Crime Stoppers allows the informant to give information in a positive atmosphere without the prospect of retribution, and by offering cash rewards for information leading to arrests, the program encourages otherwise reluctant callers to volunteer information.
Anonymity is guaranteed by issuing each caller with a code number.
This code number is used in all further contacts and the caller does not need to meet the police at any stage of the information and reward process. The figures speak for themselves. These charges include murder, armed robbery, rape, serious assault, burglary, drug trafficking and firearms offences. The success of the program cannot be purely judged on statistics, however, as other benefits have come to notice. There is always scope for development and many new initiatives are being considered, but the bottom line is that Crime Stoppers is here to stay.