Former Vancouver Police Chief Bob Stewart speaks with Linda Annis, Executive Director with Metro Vancouver  Crime Stoppers. / Contributed by Crime Stoppers.

By Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers

OPINION

YOUR PERSPECTIVE: Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers marks 40 years with Founder

May 24, 2024 | 11:30 AM

Since the day it was first established in May 1984, Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers has been collecting ANONYMOUS tips every day and forwarding them to police to solve crimes, keep people safe, and recover stolen property, drugs and illegal weapons.

To date, almost 9,000 arrests have been made based on information received through tips, and half-a-billion dollars in stolen property and drugs and have been seized. Rewards up to $5,000 are offered for tips that lead to arrests.

“This week, we’re marking 40 years and in all that time, no one who’s called Crime Stoppers has ever been identified to police or anyone else,” said Linda Annis, Executive Director of Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers. “When the program started, tipsters called a single telephone number with information. Today, we’ve expanded by adding our own mobile phone app for submitting tips. We also take information online through links on Facebook, and on our website. We take telephone tips in 115 languages day and night, and the $2000 reward we offered when Crime Stoppers began has since grown to $5000.”

Former Vancouver Police Chief Bob Stewart cuts a cake to celebrate the 40 year anniversary of Crime Stoppers with Linda Annis, Executive Director with Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers. / Contributed by Crime Stoppers.

“Crime Stoppers has been a huge success for 40 years because anonymity is guaranteed for everyone who calls us, and that allows tipsters to trust us with their valuable information,” Annis added. “In fact, the Supreme Court of Canada supports the anonymity of tipsters, allowing them to provide important information without fear of reprisal.”

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IT ALL BEGAN HERE IN 1984

The worldwide Crime Stoppers movement started in 1976 with a single case. A Canadian-born police officer named Greg MacAleese, working in Albuquerque, New Mexico, sold his chief on an idea of soliciting anonymous tips about an unsolved gas bar robbery and murder. Although the crime had been committed in a well-travelled area, no one had called police. MacAleese arranged a late evening local TV re-enactment and a reward to motivate people to provide information anonymously. The crime was solved by the next morning.

In the years since that defining moment, Crime Stoppers has flourished in jurisdictions everywhere. Greater Vancouver Crime Stoppers, as the local organization was called at first, was established officially on May 23, 1984 primarily through the efforts of former Vancouver Police Chief Bob Stewart.

“When I was police chief in the early 80s, I saw the success Crime Stoppers was beginning to have elsewhere, and I knew it could be an important tool for our citizens and police to solve crimes too,” said Stewart.

“Forty years later, the program continues to allow anyone with information to do their part in solving a crime. The model has evolved and improved somewhat with new technology, but the basics continue to work to this day.

“Crime Stoppers needed to be more than a police-operated program though, and that’s why it has a community-based board to oversee the raising of funds to pay for operations the rewards tipsters can earn,” Stewart added. “The charity-based approach we started then continues today with an independent board running the program on a not-for-profit basis, ensuring its success into the future.”

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of Fraser Valley Today or Pattison Media.