Bradford isn’t ready to give up on Crime Stoppers, even as it faces an uncertain future.
Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu was joined by members of council, Crime Stoppers of Simcoe Dufferin Muskoka, the South Simcoe Police Service and MP Scot Davidson for a flag raising ceremony recognizing January as Crime Stoppers month in town, outside the Bradford West Gwillimbury Court House on Jan. 9.
In addition to reading the official proclamation on behalf of Mayor James Leduc, who was out of the country, Sandhu also emphasized the value of the local Crime Stoppers chapter.
“Crime Stoppers is so important,” he said. “We all know it plays a vital role in the community keeping us safe.”
As recently reported, the chapter is facing a funding shortfall and in a phone interview after the ceremony Tom Young, vice-president of the board, said they’ve set a soft closing date of Aug. 1.
“We’re running out of funds quickly,” he said, explaining Crime Stoppers is not a police or government organization and the local chapter relies on fundraising for support.
However, there is still hope as Simcoe County council is set to discuss a funding request from the chapter at its next meeting on Jan. 14. During the ceremony, Sandhu said residents can count on him to support that request.
“There’s no way that this program can close,” he said. “Every level of government needs to be responsible and fund this program.”
Despite the current situation, Young explained he and the board are definitely not ready to give up.
“I’m going right to the end and my whole board is going right to the end, and we’re optimistic that something will happen in Simcoe,” he said.
During his time of about eight year on the board, Young said there had been little direct communication with municipal officials in Dufferin region, but that’s changed within the last week and now “they are really moving quickly,” to help organize support.
That follows a commitment from the District of Muskoka to provide $10,000 per year on behalf of its six member municipalities.
Based on population size, the local Crime Stoppers chapter is hoping Simcoe will provide $35,000 annually and Dufferin will do the same, as neither are currently providing regular funding, according to Young.
That would provide the $80,000 he estimates the local chapter needs to operate each year and cover costs such as rewards for tips, a single paid employee working part time, office rental, telecommunications bills and financial services.
Already, the chapter has attempted to reduce costs by giving up the lease on its single vehicle, and limiting hours for its only employee to just two days a week.
When he started with the board, Young said there were nine members, plus local committees in many communities, with a total of about 80 members, but the board has since shrunk and those committees disbanded.
“We went from basically 80 people in total down to four,” he said. “It’s very difficult doing any kind of fundraising to run our program with only four people in that huge area.”
He called it “disheartening” to think that this could be the last Crime Stoppers month before the chapter closes and the communities lose a link between the residents and police.
“If it doesn’t exist anymore, then all the good things that these tips are doing won’t happen anymore,” he said.
Young encourages residents to not give up on the chapter and consider volunteering their time to help keep it in operation.
Amy van der Jagt, office manager for the local chapter, helped raise the flag, and was similarly concerned about the pending closure.
“It’s pretty devastating,” she said after the ceremony. “It’s a big loss for the community.”
During the ceremony, South Simcoe Staff Sgt. Sean Willan thanked the members of Crime Stoppers for their “tireless and often thankless” efforts to keep peace in local communities throughout the province, saying that throughout his career, “countless crimes” have been solved with the help of anonymous tips.
“I believe that it is a valuable resource, not only to police and law enforcement, but to the community at large,” he said.
That was echoed by Leslie Woodley, OPP officer and police coordinator with the local chapter, who said there are many reasons why someone might be more comfortable reporting to Crime Stoppers than directly to police. She explained every time someone contacts police, their contact information is recorded and could become part of court records available to the accused.
As an example, she said someone might contact the organization about a crime taking place at a home in their own neighbourhood to avoid concern their neighbour would find out they reported it.
“It would be very sad for the community if they don’t have a way to report anonymously in the future,” she said after the ceremony. “That will cut down on a lot of information to the police.”
York-Simcoe MP Scot Davidson also attended the ceremony and emphasized the importance of the organization.
“Crime Stoppers is proof of the difference that community can make,” he said. “The partnership between the public, law enforcement, the media and dedicated volunteers makes considerable impact in keeping people safe, catching criminals and reducing crime.”
He also took aim at policies of the current federal government, which he said have led to “out of control crime on our streets,” and said the federal Conservative party would “bring home safe streets” by repealing current government policies and jailing violent and repeat offenders.
The local Crime Stoppers branch is a non-profit charitable organization operating a civilian, volunteer-based program which allows the public to anonymously report information about crime to the organization, who then send the information to police.
The organization explains their tipsters are never required to identify themselves or attend court, and may be eligible for cash rewards.
Since becoming established on Jan. 12, 1987, the organization reports it has received 74,000 anonymous tips, leading to 5,297 arrests, 7,387 cases cleared and $446,597 in rewards approved.
For more information about the organization or how to provide support, visit its website or Facebook page. To provide an anonymous tip, call 1-800-222-8477.
