How Williamson County Crime Stoppers operates - Austin American-Statesman

This is the second in a five-part series on the Williamson County Crime Stoppers.

Most people have heard of Crime Stoppers, but very few have ever had any direct contact with the program and most really don’t know how it works.

After a criminal case is not solved within a reasonable length of time, leads can diminish, the trail becomes cold and the crime becomes increasingly more difficult to solve. Frequently, citizens possess key information that could assist the police in solving the crime. In many cases, however, they do not contact the police out of fear of retaliation or may be called upon to testify. Others just don’t want to get involved.

The Crime Stoppers program provides a method of overcoming this limitation by allowing any citizen supplying information to remain completely anonymous. It provides a ready source of cash as an incentive and offers a way for local citizens and businesses to participate in reducing crime in their community.

Crime Stoppers has a two-pronged approach to helping lessen crime. We rely on cooperation between the police, the media and the community to provide an anonymous flow of information about crime and criminals.

Individuals can call the Crime Stoppers tips line call center at 1-800-253-7867. This phone line does not have caller ID, and conversations are not recorded.

The person receiving the information completes the tips information form and notifies the Crime Stoppers coordinator, who reviews the initial information and then sends it to an investigating officer in Williamson County. Calls are accepted regarding any publicized request for information, like the “Crime of the Week,” “Unsolved Crimes” or any other knowledge a caller may have on a crime.

By guaranteeing caller anonymity, Crime Stoppers allows tipsters to give information in a positive atmosphere without the prospect of retribution. The cash rewards also encourage otherwise reluctant callers to provide valuable information.

The other option for tipsters is visiting wilcocrimetips.org. The process is completely secure and anonymous and is a very effective and efficient means of providing information.

The website’s integrated two-way dialogue capability allows a tipster to come back and provide additional information to their tip at any time while providing a secure means for the coordinator to ask questions or provide reward information back to the tipster through the same secure and encrypted interface.

Simply click on WebTips at the top of the Crime Stoppers webpage, which opens a crime tip form.

If any information lead to an arrest, the tipster could be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000. The Crime Stoppers board of directors meets monthly to evaluate the tips and arrests and decides on the reward amount. Tipsters should follow up on their tip to see if a reward was approved. Rewards are then distributed in a private manner to protect the identity of the caller.

Let's block ads! (Why?)