What is Crime Stoppers?

Crime Stoppers began in Albuquerque, New Mexico in September of 1976. Members of the local community, in partnership with the media and law enforcement, began an effort to provide crime-solving assistance to law enforcement. A cash reward was offered to anonymous persons who telephone the Crime Stoppers hot line with information which led to the arrest and indictment of the person(s) responsible for felony offenses. The Crime Stoppers program has enjoyed great success boasting an average conviction rate of 95% on cases solved by Crime Stoppers' tips.

Why Do We Need Crime Stoppers?

Crime Stoppers is based on the principle that "Someone other than the criminal has information that can solve a crime."

Crime Stoppers was created to combat the three major problems faced by law enforcement in generating the information:

  • Fear of REPRISAL
  • An attitude of APATHY
  • Reluctance to get INVOLVED

Crime Stoppers resolves these problems by:

  • Offering ANONYMITY to people who provide information about crimes.
  • Paying REWARDS (up to $1,000) when the information supplied leads to arrest.