Stop looking for money in war against crime

Dupigny said Crime Stoppers has been publicly criticised for offering only $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator or perpetrators of last Saturday’s KFC bomb blast and accused some persons of not being serious about solving crime in TT.

Reminding his audience that Crime Stoppers is an international non-profit organisation, Dupigny declared: "We should not really have to pay for information. We are doing our civic duty. If you know somebody is involved in criminal activity, we should be doing our civic duty." Notwithstanding the criticism, Dupigny said Crime Stoppers will improve the ways in which citizens can supply the police with important crime tips through the launch of a website in mid-October that would facilitate on-line tips. He explained that this would further bolster Crime Stoppers’ already existing confidentiality arrangements with the population for the provision of crime tips.

He also said data available to Crime Stoppers shows that the ability of the Police Service to detect, investigate and solve crimes has been improving over the last three years. From 1999 to 2004, Crime Stoppers has received 8,911 tips which have led to 3,105 investigations and 2,054 offences being cleared, 204 persons being arrested and charged and $196 million in illegal drugs seized, 95 illegal firearms, $2.7 million in stolen property and 1,611 rounds of ammunition being recovered. Crime Stoppers has paid approximately $300,000 in rewards during this period.

He also said a junior Crime Stoppers programme will be established for TT’s secondary schools and tertiary level educational institutions and Crime Stoppers will forge a closer partnership with the media.