About Birmingham Area Crime Stoppers

The concept of Crime Stoppers it originated in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1976 by Police Detective Greg Macaleese. Members of this local community, in partnership with the media and law enforcement, began an effort to provide crime-solving assistance to law enforcement. A cash reward was offered to anonymous persons who telephoned the Crime Stoppers hot line with information which led to the arrest and indictment of the person(s) responsible for felony offenses.

The Crime Stoppers program has enjoyed great success, boasting an average conviction rate of 95% on cases solved by Crime Stoppers Tips. The Crime Stoppers programs world-wide have solved over a million crimes and recovered over 6 billion dollars worth of stolen property and narcotics. (CSI statistics).

Today there are over 1000 Crime Stoppers programs in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, Bahamas, British West Indies, Micronesia, and other nations.

Three Essential Elements make up a Crime Stoppers Program:

1. The Community

Citizens are responsible for forming a Crime Stoppers non-profit corporation, whose directors establish policy, determine amount and method of reward payments, work closely with the police and the media and generally oversee the program. Tax money is not sought.

2. The Media

Crime Stoppers methods, 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 radio, and in certain cases reenactment on television.

3. 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 give their names. If after an investigation, the information leads to an arrest, the caller is entitled to a reward. CRIME STOPPERS WORKS!

The Birmingham Crimestoppers Program was begun January 8, 1981.