Crime Stoppers

To reach Crime Stoppers in New Hanover County call
(910) 763-3888 or 1-800-531-9845

What is Crime Stoppers?
Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward to anonymous persons who call the Crime Stoppers hot line with information which leads to the arrest and indictment of the person(s) responsible for felony offenses. The Crime Stoppers program averages a conviction rate of 95% on cases solved by Crime Stoppers’ tips. Worldwide, Crime Stoppers programs have solved over a half a million crimes and recovered over 3 billion dollars worth of stolen property and narcotics.

Why Do We Need Crime Stoppers?
The program was created to combat the three major problems faced by law enforcement in generating that information: fear of reprisal, reluctance to get involved, and an attitude of apathy. Crime Stoppers helps resolve these problems by offering anonymity to people who provide information about crimes, and paying rewards when a Crime Stopper tip leads to an arrest and indictment of a person(s) who commits a felony.

Three Essential Elements Make Up a Crime Stoppers Program

• The Community
  Citizens are responsible for forming a Crime Stoppers non-profit organization, whose directors establish policy, determine the amount and method of reward payments, work closely with the police and the media, and generally oversee the program. The directors are also responsible for fundraising and all volunteer service.
• The Media
  Crime Stoppers objectives, successes, and phone numbers are publicized on a regular basis by the media. An unsolved “Crime of the Week” is given special treatment with details published in newspapers, on the radio, and in certain cases, a re-enactment on TV.
• The Police
  A special Crime Stoppers phone with a well publicized number is provided to the community. Callers are assigned a special code number and never provide their names. If the information leads to an arrest and indictment of a felony offender, the caller is entitled to a reward.

North Carolina Crime Stoppers Association
The North Carolina Crime Stoppers Association was formed in 1991 as an umbrella organization for Crime Stoppers programs in our state. The association furthers the goals of Crime Stoppers programs by providing annual training seminars which focus on fund-raising, promotion, and operation of individual programs.