(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
March 27, 2014 - 2:29 PM
KAMLOOPS — Crime Stoppers has been operating for 30 years in Kamloops and the number of tips again rose in 2013, though the number of tips fell in the rest of the district.
The Kamloops area (city and rural) 639 tips were received in 2013, up 16 from the year before. The number of tips increased in Clearwater, Lillooet and Logan Lake as well, while Barrier, Chase, Clinton, Lytton and Merritt numbers have dropped over the years.
While tips received continues to grow the amount of cash paid out is not growing by quite the same rate. Since the program began in Kamloops nearly $200,000 in rewards have been paid out, about $30,000 of that was in 2013.
“Only about 60 per cent ever picked up,” president Lee Dodds says of the number of tipsters entitled to a reward. “Perhaps they're good citizens not looking to get anything from it.”
To help pay for those tipsters the group raises funds throughout the year, with the signature event being a car raffle. In 2013 a Mustang convertible was raffled, raising more than $34,000 to help pay for tips. The group has decided to follow up on the success of the convertible raffle last year by again raffling a Mustang convertible. About 40 volunteer members are helping to sell the raffle tickets this year.
The program in numbers (since inception in 1984)
Tips received: 17,861
Arrests made: 1,448
Cases cleared: 1,613
Rewards paid: $199,270
Weapons recovered: 187
Value of property recovered: $9,564,210
Value of narcotics recovered: $60,061,320
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infotelnews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014