The good work by Crimestoppers has been backed up by an official review of the charity.
The good work by Crimestoppers has been backed up by an official review of the charity. The Home Office has also announced £342,000 of interim funding to support the Crimestoppers Trust, following a recent fall in private sector backing, says John Denham, Home Office Minister for Crime Reduction and Community Safety. Some criticisms could be righted by more of the service – for instance, police feedback to Crimestoppers is patchy (because of form-filling) and many calls to the freephone line 0800 555 111 are met by a recorded message at night and at weekends, when many – perhaps a majority – of calls are made. The Home Office reports that its evaluation of Crimestoppers is the first of its kind. Since 1988 the charity have operated an anonymous freephone number for the public to provide information to the police. The evaluation aimed to identify how effective the scheme is, and the actual contribution it makes to the detection, investigation and prosecution of crimes. The evaluation found that from more than half a million calls received by Crimestoppers in 2000: 17 per cent of the calls on which action was taken resulted in an arrest, charge or caution; 43 per cent of successful resolutions relate to drug related crime; and over £3.7 million worth of stolen property was recovered. If anything, Crimestoppers underestimated its value. The evaluation shows that calls to Crimestoppers can provide invaluable information about the most serious crimes. In 2000, 30 calls were received that led to an arrest or charge in relation to murder, 25 in relation to attempted murder and 28 in relation to sexual assault.
John Denham said: ‘Our research shows that Crimestoppers is a unique and effective route to gathering vital intelligence for the police and other law enforcement agencies. The success of Crimestoppers Trust demonstrates the value of voluntary and business efforts working in partnership. I hope Crimestoppers can continue this success and I am very pleased that the Home Office is able to provide interim funding whilst Crimestoppers addresses its future funding.’ How the charity’s 29 regional units perform varies widely. In London, for example, 24 per cent of all actionable calls led to an arrest, caution or charge, while in Dorset only 13 per cent of actionable calls achieved the same result. The research highlights improvements could be made by: increasing the amount of corroborative research completed at an early stage, before call information is passed to an investigating officer; and raising the general awareness of the benefits of Crimestoppers amongst the police force and the general public. For details visit the Home Office website.
