A Phone Tip That Extends Reach of Police

The News & Advance
Published: April 1, 2008

Police will be the first to tell you they don’t know everything. They can’t be everywhere all the time. There simply are not enough of them to go around.
That’s why Crime Stoppers is so important. Through the public, who may have a detail about a particular crime, the program provides additional eyes and ears for local police and sheriff’s departments. That one detail could add just the piece of information police need to make an arrest or locate a suspect.
For 10 years, the Central Virginia Crime Stoppers line has been seeking tips to help local law enforcement solve crimes ranging from robberies to murders to finding fugitives who have eluded police for months or years.
In addition to the Lynchburg and Bedford police departments, the program embraces surrounding town police departments and county sheriff’s offices. It also includes the Liberty University Police Department. The tip line is an idea that recently retired Lynchburg Police Chief Charles Bennett brought here from Richmond.
Tips called in over the years have solved 214 cases for Crime Stopper member agencies. Among those are seven homicides that have been solved and the arrests of 89 fugitives. The 414 cases the program received in 2005 are the most ever. That year also saw the highest number of cases solved through the help of citizen calls — 30.
Even though the number of cases solved sounds low, they are still cases that police wouldn’t have solved without the public’s help. “These are things that would not have been solved and property that would not have been recovered had it not been for witnesses calling to report the crime,” said Lt. Jeff Bauserman of the Lynchburg Police Department.
A key ingredient to the tip line’s success is the anonymity it provides callers. The tips come into Lynchburg’s Emergency Communications Center on an anonymous line. There is no caller ID or other way to trace the caller. As a result of their anonymity, callers won’t be asked to testify in court.
Gordon Howell, president of the Central Virginia Crime Stoppers board, says the anonymous role that callers provide is important. “It’s a method for people being involved without getting involved,” he said. “We don’t know and we don’t care who these tips come from. We make every effort to make sure we don’t get their identity. We make (those efforts) so there is no worry about retaliation.”
As an incentive for callers to use the tip line when they think they have information that would be useful, the program may provide a cash reward if the information leads to an arrest or recovery of stolen property. Statistics show, however, that the money is not a prime factor. Out of 212 tips approved for a reward since the program began, only 114 people have collected the money.
Last year, Crime Stoppers approved payment of $3,100 in rewards, but tipsters collected only $1,400.
Bauserman said that’s about normal and suggested that at least half of those responding with tips do so to help keep their communities safe. “Money is a good motivator in some instances, but for some it’s their civic duty to keep the community safe and they don’t care about collecting the reward.”
In the end, Central Virginia Crime Stoppers is a tool that helps law enforcement break cases that may not ever be broken. It is also a way for citizens to help their police or sheriffs solve cases with information that ends up putting more law breakers behind bars.
If you think you have information relating to a crime committed in the region, call the Crime Stoppers tip line at (888) 798-5900. Your anonymity is guaranteed. And just as importantly, the information you have may be just the piece that police need to make an arrest in the case. That will make your community safer for everyone.