Chatham-Kent Crime Stoppers did more with less in 2024.
The community based program that brings local citizens, the media, and the police together to solve crime received fewer tips in 2024 than the previous year, but those tips led to more charges and a higher number of arrests last year compared to 2023.
CK Crime Stoppers received 531 tips last year that led to 43 charges being laid and 15 arrests made compared to 543 tips received that led to 32 charges laid and 10 arrests made in 2023.
Chatham-Kent police Crime Stoppers Coordinator Erica McIntosh said stopping, solving, and preventing crime in Chatham-Kent is accomplished by offering cash rewards and guaranteeing anonymity to persons who furnish information leading to the arrest of or laying of charges against criminal offenders.
"2024 was a good year. We’re down a little bit in drugs and property recovered, but we’re up in arrests and charges laid and tips received," McIntosh said. “We get a lot of really great tips that have been proven successful in a lot of our investigations, whether they are major crime or traditional road calls.”
McIntosh also reported total property recovered in 2024 totaled $172,410, including $110,100 in drugs seized. In 2023, tips to Crime Stoppers also led to $1 million worth of drugs being taken off the street.
"We believe that our program has been an intricate part in keeping our community safe," she said.
Crime Stoppers can help raise awareness about the level of criminal activity in a community and gives the community a way to fight back against crime, she noted.
"January is a wonderful opportunity to bring awareness to the Chatham-Kent Crime Stoppers program. Our program is aimed at empowering community members to report suspicious or criminal activity anonymously," McIntosh said.
Since its inception in 1987, the CK Crime Stoppers program has been responsible for recovering more than $115 million worth of stolen property. Tips sent to Crime Stoppers were also responsible for seizing 340 illegal weapons over the past 37 years.
Crime Stoppers has received over 30,000 tips from the public since 1987, resulting in over 7,600 arrests, according to McIntosh.