2017 marks three decades of work for the Chatham-Kent Crime Stoppers program.
30 years ago, the first local reward was given out for a tip that helped police solve a crime.
Spokesman Dave Bakker says the future of the program will always lead back to the community.
“Crime stoppers is a community program that is owned by the community, it’s not a police program. So that involves the community in policing,” says Bakker. “We’ve seen groups like East Side Pride, Neighbourhood Watch, and other initiatives started by police services that engage communities and solve crimes and keep their little area of their community save.”
Over the past 30 years, Bakker says the local program has fielded almost 26,000 tips, resulting in over $6,000 arrests leading to nearly 16,000 charges laid.
