Mississippi-Tay Crime Stoppers
|
|
Mississippi-Tay Crime Stoppers |
|
Mississippi/Tay Crime Stoppers News and Events News for 2008
Crime Stoppers is looking forward to a busy year. We have already
visited many area schools, and made presentations about our program and
what we do for our community. We are planning to continue these
presentations until the school year ends. So look for us to hopefully attend
your school soon.
Shortly we will begin our season of outdoor events. Crime Stoppers attends
as many community events as possible. In order to bring our message to you. Look
for us at the 2008 Maplefest in the town of Perth on Saturday April 26/08. We will
also be continuing our participation in such successful events as: The Canada Day
Vendor's Village, The Great Bridge Street Bazaar, and The Perth Fair just to name
a few. Even though we have a busy schedule we are always looking for new community
events to be a part of.
Recently Crime Stoppers took delivery of our newest tool in the fight
against crime, an inter-active display trailer which will greatly enhance our
visibility and ability to serve the community year round. Look for this
exciting new addition to the Crime Stoppers program at upcoming events in
our community, and drop by and see what's new.
We would also like to take this opportunity the thank you for your
continued support!
News for 2007
In 2007 Mississippi/Tay Crime Stoppers received a special projects award
from the Ontario Association of Crime Stoppers (OACS). It was accepted
by Constable Steve Stresman, the police coordinator for Mississippi/Tay Crime
Stoppers, and board member Don MacIntyre at the OACS annual
conference in Niagara Falls last spring. The award was presented in
recognition of the local program's DVD project which proved so successful
in late 2006 and early 2007. The DVD, produced by students in the Art
Department at Perth and District Collegiate Institute (several also acted in
the production), is entitled 'Intervention'.
The DVD re-enacts the theft of a
gun and shows how a seemingly "small crime" can very quickly spin out of
control and lead to something extremely sinister and dangerous. The idea for
the project came from Stresman and it was paid for by Mississippi/Tay
Crime Stoppers. Stresman has special words of praise for the PDCI students
involved as well as teachers Paul Gallien and Carolee Mason for their
guidance and efforts in seeing the project through to a successful
conclusion. He also thanks the Perth businesses who participated and the
Upper Canada District School Board which sanctioned the project at its
school, PDCI."The DVD is now in the hands of every (Crime Stoppers)
program in the province and there has been interest shown nationally as
well," Stresman says of the DVD and the important message it
delivers.
Board Chairman, Jeff Maguire expresses satisfaction that a partnership with people in the
community proved to be so valuable for the organization. "Crime Stoppers is
a partnership of people in the community, the police and the news media,"
he says. "Without everyone's support it can't work. But our ongoing success
shows the partnership in Lanark County is strong."
Shifting gears, Stresman
explains the integrity of the Crime Stoppers program is paramount in terms
of the organization's current and future success. "Phone calls are not
recorded. There is no call display. Callers are never identified and they
don't have to testify in court," he observes "Caller's anonymity is guaranteed.
The integrity of the program relies on callers remaining completely
anonymous. That is priority No. 1. It's the main reason for Crime Stoppers
success." he underlines.
The OPP officer also points to the computerized
system of reporting that was instituted for the first time in 2007. "People can
telephone or they can contact us on-line. "Tipsters have the option of entering
their information via the Crime Stoppers Crime Stoppers toll-free hotline number is 1-800-222-TIPS (1-800-222-
8477) and it is available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. As mentioned the
Crime Stoppers telephone line is not recorded and the organization does not
subscribe to call display. All calls are totally anonymous and tipsters do not
have to appear in court. If a call leads to an arrest the tipster could be
eligible for a cash reward.
|