How it Works
Put simply it is a three part approach to solving the crime problem. Crime Stoppers relies on cooperation between the police, the media, and the general community to provide a flow of information about crime and criminals.
The Phone Call
One way to contact Marathon County Crime Stoppers is to call the toll-free tip line. Your phone call will be answered by CSI - CrimeSceneInformation which is a 24-Hour Crime Stoppers Call Center located in South East Texas. Crime Stoppers tipsters are 100% anonymous. CSI has bilingual Operators speaking English and Spanish. The CSI call taker will complete the tip information form and provide the caller with a secret code number. Calls are accepted regarding any publicized request for information, such as "Crime of the Week" or any other crime(s) the caller has knowledge of.
By guaranteeing a caller's anonymity Marathon County Crime Stoppers allows the caller to give information in a positive atmosphere without the risk of retribution. By offering cash rewards for information, the program encourages otherwise reluctant callers to provide information.
The Online WebTip
Tipsters now have the option of giving us tips online. The process is completely secure and anonymous and is a very effective and efficient means of safely communicating with us in today's world. Our WebTip process is powered by the world's leading online tip solution provider, Anderson Software.
The very unique, confidential, integrated Two-Way Dialog capabilities allow the tipster to come back and provide additional information to their tip at any time, but also provides a secure means for the coordinator to ask questions or provide reward information back to the tipster through the same secure and encrypted interface.
Structure and Funding of Crime Stoppers
All Crime Stopper Programs are organized as a not for profit organization (Charity). A civilian community board of directors provides direction as to the financial and promotional activities of the program. The board of directors enhances the community involvement aspect, and its function is vital to the programs success.
Crime Stoppers is funded by private donations and fund raising. NO TAX DOLLARS are involved. The reward money paid out by the program is from the fund raising and donations from concerned citizens and businesses.
A community board of directors, made up of persons from throughout the area, meets every other month to evaluate tip information and to decide on the dollar amount of rewards to be paid, up to $1,000. Rewards are then distributed in a safe and private manner, without identifying the caller. Callers are eligible for rewards up to $1,000, but, despite this, many callers choose not to collect their rewards.
Does Crime Stoppers Work?
The answer is quite simply yes. Since the start of Crime Stoppers, many calls have been received resulting in thousands of arrests and recovery of substantial amounts of property. Calls have included information about murder, robbery, rape, assaults, drug and firearm offenses.
The success of a Crime Stoppers program cannot be purely judged on statistics, however, other benefits have come to notice:
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A greater awareness in the community that there is a crime problem.
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A willingness by the community to fight back against crime if it is given the opportunity, motivation and anonymity.
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Improved relationships between police, media, and the community.
Crime Stoppers is definitely here to stay. It has been accepted by police as a valid and effective investigative tool. The public, through its overwhelming response, appears to have accepted it as a more palatable alternative to traditional methods of giving information.