Last year, 43 arrests were made, 28 cases were cleared, 126 charges were laid, and $96,150 worth of drugs were seized thanks, in part, to anonymous tips reported to Crime Stoppers of Niagara. One tip might not be enough to solve a crime, but Ernie Sibbet, Crime Stoppers of Niagara Board Chair, said multiple tips can.
“Tips are pieces of a puzzle that will create the investigation,” he said.
Sibbet mentioned serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo as one example of a program success.
In 1995, Bernardo, who lived in Port Dalhousie with his then-wife, Karla Homolka, received a life sentence for the kidnapping, torture, and killing of 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy. Dubbed the "Scarborough Rapist," he had committed a string of sexual crimes in that city from 1987 to 1990.
“He was caught through a Crime Stoppers tip,” asserted Sibbet, although the police investigation was otherwise so incompetent that a special review was later undertaken to determine how things went so spectacularly wrong. (Among other failures, it took 26 months for police to realize that DNA samples taken from Bernardo matched previous crime scene evidence.)
Each year, Crime Stoppers programs across the globe recognize January as Crime Stoppers Awareness Month to highlight their successes. To raise awareness about the group’s own achievements, Sibbet and members of the Crime Stoppers team in Niagara met with Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch at his Welland office on Jan. 24 to have an informal discussion about the program and how it supports the region.
Crime Stoppers of Niagara is a non-profit volunteer program that involves civilians, the media, and police in the fight against crime. Since 1985, Crime Stoppers of Niagara volunteers have continued to raise, control and administer funds, organize reward payments to tipsters, and promote the program in general.
Tips are pieces of a puzzle that will create the investigation
In addition to taking crime-related tips that remain anonymous and confidential, Sibbet said a lot goes on behind the scenes the public might not be aware of.
The Niagara Region has earmarked grant funding through the Building Safer Communities Grant for Crime Stoppers of Niagara to deliver an anti-human-trafficking campaign for at-risk youth.
Sibbet said he wants to use the campaign as a conversation tool for parents to talk to their kids about human trafficking and open the door for children to ask questions.
“Parents don’t want to talk about it. People don’t think it’s here; but it is. (Niagara) is the number one (spot) in Canada,” Sibbet said, and added that some 17 million travellers cross the Canada-U.S. border every year.
Crime Stoppers of Niagara also has a partnership with the Niagara Elder Abuse Prevention Network and offers presentations to senior centres, libraries, community groups, and other agencies to teach those who may be susceptible to identify scams and ways to protect themselves.
In addition to the presentations, citizens have access to a guide called “Be Aware, Take Care,” which provides tips on different types of scams older adults can become victims of and offers phone numbers and resources to call for help.
For more information about Crime Stoppers of Niagara visit www.crimestoppersniagara.ca. To report an anonymous tip call 1-800-222-8477.
With files by Dave Burket.