(COLORADO SPRINGS)– Pikes Peak area Crime Stoppers is helping law enforcement agencies reduce crime rates in the region by encouraging citizens to provide anonymous tips.
“People are our eyes and ears as far as the law enforcement community of seeing things,” said Don Abby, Chairman of Pikes Peak area Crime Stoppers.
The nonprofit organization, which began as a volunteer group in the 1970s, has assisted in solving thousands of crimes by offering a platform for citizens to share information anonymously.
“We are a nonprofit organization that provides a platform whereby citizens can call or send us an email or log on to our website and share information they may have about a crime or the location of a wanted person,” said Abby.
The local branch of Crime Stoppers has helped law enforcement solve thousands of crimes in the Pikes Peak area. It began as a volunteer group in the 70s, assisting in twenty to forty arrests each year.
Pikes Peak Crime Stoppers operates as a tax-exempt organization and is staffed almost entirely by volunteers, supported by local donations.
“Everything’s volunteer. People are volunteers. We have no employees. We get volunteer help from people around the community. So we don’t pay employees to help us. We don’t have any fixed facilities. We have no office space, nothing where we are spending money other than for rewards,” said Abby.
Crime Stoppers emphasizes the importance of every detail in an investigation, no matter how small it may seem. “People think, well, maybe it’s not that important that it was a red car or it was, you know, this thing I saw two in the morning to come forward and kind of take a chance to provide that information,” said Carey.
If you want to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers takes multiple steps to protect your identity. “We’ll never identify you. We don’t take your phone number as an I.D. We have no idea who you are. You’ll be anonymous forever,” said Abby.
Crime Stoppers offers rewards for useful information, with the largest ever being $10,000, but the average reward is between $400 and $1,000.
“Please share. You’ll be protected if you know something about a crime that happened or if you know a wanted person is. Please share that with us,” said Abby.
If you have witnessed a crime or have any information despite how long ago it was, you are asked to call 719-634-STOP. You will be given a code number to uniquely identify your tip, which is how Crime Stoppers can get your reward to you.
With the support of volunteers and local donations, Pikes Peak area Crime Stoppers continues to play a vital role in assisting law enforcement and encouraging community involvement in crime prevention.
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