A board of citizen volunteers establishes policy, decides the amount and method of rewards, and raises funds. The operational side of the program is handled by local law enforcement officials. They answer all calls received on the Crime Stoppers line and concentrate on investigating and solving crimes with the aid of information called in by citizens. Crime Stoppers is funded primarily by private donations of money, goods, and services from the public. Donors include individuals, businesses, clubs, and associations.
All contributions are tax-deductible.
Anyone with information about a crime can call Crime Stoppers and give their clues to the officer on duty. All callers may remain anonymous, identified only by a code number. If the clue leads to an arrest, a cash reward may be given. The Crime Stoppers citizen board judges the value of the information and decides the amount of the reward. Crime Stoppers has become recognized as one of the nation's most successful anti-crime programs since it began in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1976.