The Detroit Free Press
DETROIT, Mich. — Crime Stoppers of Southeast Michigan reported a record number of tips forwarded to local law enforcement agencies in 2007, resulting in a marked increase in arrests across the region.
According to information from the crime-fighting organization, there were 2,940 tips forwarded to law enforcement agencies last year, an increase of nearly 66% from 2006.
In addition, there were 490 arrests made because of tips to Crime Stoppers, 18 of them on murder charges. That’s up from 2006 when there were 253 felony and misdemeanor arrests made as a result of tips.
“The good news is that more citizens are coming forward with information to remove dangerous criminals off of our streets,” said John Broad, president of Crime Stoppers. “Unfortunately, southeast Michigan is still considered one of the highest crime regions in the country.”
By calling 800-773-2587, people can report information about serious crimes. There is no caller ID, and all calls remain anonymous.
The operator takes the information provided by tipsters and assigns it a tip number. The caller is advised to call the Crime Stoppers administrative offices at a later time to determine whether they are entitled to a reward amount of up to $1,000 for crimes solved based on the information generated by the tip.
Any information from the tips is forwarded to 154 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, St. Clair, Livingston, Washtenaw and Monroe counties.
Copyright 2008 Detroit Free Press