Roy Clark retired from the Metropolitan Police in March 2001 to become Director of the Crimestoppers Trust. After one year at the helm, Una Riley talks to him about his enthusiasm for the confidential crime-reporting line.
With his 35-year police experience in mind Roy Clark said: ‘I have always been a great believer in Crimestoppers and know that it adds significantly to police efforts to bring criminals to justice. I took on the position of Director of the Trust, as somebody who directly benefited from the information passed to the police by callers. Crimestoppers is a great success and there are clear indications of how even more can be achieved.’ Roy previously held the rank of Deputy Assistant Commissioner. During the final years of his career he was leading major enquires into corruption and heading an ACPO working group to prevent and detect it within the police service. He was also responsible for the review of all murder enquires within the Met area and had a wider portfolio of inspection and review. The major part of his career was served within the CID dealing particularly with serious, international and organised crime. He served long periods with the Flying Squad, the Regional Crime Squad and the Intelligence Branch of the Met. His demeanour is calm and friendly with no edge. The enthusiasm for his role at Crimestoppers is contagious. When Roy and I sat down to conduct the interview he was adamant that the early days and the people involved should be recognised. Crimestoppers was set up in 1988 and is the only charity aimed at putting criminals behind bars. Digby Carter, Roy’s predecessor, retired after ten years of building Crimestoppers into a significant and effective weapon in the fight against crime. I asked Roy what he thought he brought to the role: ‘Police knowledge, police contacts. Crimestoppers is heavily dependent on a partnership with the police. These contacts have been useful in the last year when there have been issues and problems that have to be addressed and being able to pick up the phone and have a conversation with the right person makes a big difference. I have been surprised actually how invaluable it has been to be able to speak with people in different parts of the country and build upon the network that was established during my days with the Regional Crime Squad.’
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Other areas
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I asked if the national overview had been helpful in other areas: ‘Undoubtedly, Crimestoppers works throughout 31 regions in the UK including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. During my visits to the regions I have been able to talk with authority and knowledge. Not just from a Crimestoppers perspective but also from an organised crime investigative point of view and particularly my experience in murder investigations. There is a lot of work to do. We have a dedicated team that shares the vision of Crimestoppers. The job is to ensure that the phone keeps ringing and to harness public support in the fight against crime. We have recently secured some Home Office funding to help the work of the charity. They commissioned some research with us identifying that Crimestoppers is not as super-efficient as we would like. We spend a lot of money and time advertising our call line. Yet it is the police that answer the calls. Obviously there are massive problems with resourcing and they can’t actually do it 24 hours a day. Now, the challenge that has come on the back of Home Office funding is to increase that efficiency.This had been useful to me in my first year. I recognised early on that when we request people to ring ‘Crimestoppers’ the phone is only answered eight hours a day in some parts of the country. So I have been able to say, and it is a phrase I have used quite a lot, that the police service is the weakest link in the partnership. I have said that in the context that I have come from the service and people will know that I am not just having a cheap dig. Chief constables have agreed that we require a ‘fit for purpose’ communication mechanism. What can you do at 3am ‘ insure your car, pay a standing order, check your bank balance and report a murder. One thing you can’t do is phone Crimestoppers! We’re on a path to now do something about that.’ Have you thought about a call-centre’ I asked. ‘Well, that’s the big debate we’re in with ACPO. Up until now it’s the Crimestoppers Trust that makes the telephone ring and it is the police that answer the telephone. In most parts of the country they use very expensive police officers to answer the phone. I have just submitted a paper to ACPO saying why don’t we [Crimestoppers] take on the call-centre. The proposal is that we have maybe one or two call-centres nation-wide to take on the calls. People with integrity, who have been screened, would work within these centres. There are wider possibilities that would enable us to take on other responsibilities. I have had a chat with John Denham, the Minister for Policing. He is very keen that we improve efficiency and explore the possibility of this call-centre, staffed by the trust rather than police. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bill Griffiths heads the ACPO responsibility for Crimestoppers and he can see the common sense in a 24-7 Crimestoppers call-centre. What I would like to see is either the police supply a systems for answering those calls 24-7 or that we be given a chance to start the call-centre.’ Do you have a target date’ I asked. ‘Within a year ‘ I hope. In the meantime it is important to remember the free phone number 0800 555 111. Independent research has shown that nearly two thirds of the offenders exposed by Crimestoppers were unknown to the police, or not suspected of the crime in question. If information given to Crimestoppers results in arrest and charge of a suspect, the caller may be entitled to a cash reward. However, only four percent of callers ever want a reward. We push it to every one of them, 96pc are not interested, and they just want something done about the problem. The support that we receive from the public and the media is tremendous. That says to me that it is a citizenship thing. Although, speaking to some of the call handlers it would appear that it involves families or work colleagues. Last year we had forty murders solved by Crimestoppers calls.’ So what type of citizen rings’ ‘Due to the calls being anonymous it is impossible to profile them. We do not know who our callers are. Being an ex-cop. Logic tells me it can sometimes be villains grassing on other villains. I should also imagine those friends and relations who know somebody’s done something wrong, must wrestle with their conscience and in the end they say that they can’t actually live with this and they need to have something done about it but don’t want to get involved.’ I guess that’s its success: it creates an opportunity for them to come forward without fearing reprisals. The anonymity is the key. Individuals are not required to identify themselves, Whatever the case. Roy and I talked for ages about the changes that have taken place regarding attitude to the victim and life today. He is a very interesting, compassionate chap who has strong views regarding people and society. I have no doubt that Crimestoppers will go from strength to strength.
