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Crimestoppers UK

March 09, 2023

Crimestoppers Trust is an independent crime-fighting charitable organisation in the United Kingdom. Crimestoppers operates the 0800 555 111 telephone number, allowing people to call anonymously to pass on information about crime. People can also give information anonymously via an anonymous online form on the Crimestoppers website. Callers are not required to give their name or any personal information. Crimestoppers has more than 100 staff and almost 350 volunteers and has an income of more than £4.5M a year.[1][2]

Most Wanted

In November 2005, Crimestoppers launched a Most Wanted section of its website, where members of the public can look at images of people currently wanted by UK law enforcement agencies.

Most Wanted is a UK-wide online database where individuals wanted by the police and other law enforcement bodies such as the National Crime Agency, HMRC, and the UK Border Force can be found[clarification needed] and information passed on about them anonymously by the public.

As part of the Most Wanted section, the Unknowns Gallery was launched in February 2014. This allows law enforcement users to upload images of individuals that they require names for (often taken from e-fits or CCTV stills). With the gallery searchable by both crime type and location, this makes it easier for the public to put names to these faces without having to reveal their own identities.[3]

Campaigns

Crimestoppers runs a large number of campaigns each year educating the public about different crime types and appealing for information. Examples of campaigns include:

‘Scratch and Sniff’ Cannabis Cultivation Campaign

Starting in 2013, the charity and police forces across the country distributed "scratch and sniff" cards to the public to educate and inform them about the signs to spot and the specific smell of cannabis when it is growing. The campaign was designed to target cultivation by criminal gangs so hot spot areas, as informed by police intelligence, were targeted by 17 police forces throughout England and Wales. Due to the campaign, information passed to Crimestoppers on cannabis cultivation contributed to new cannabis farms being discovered and a number of arrests.[4]

Game of Fraud

Crime figures show a substantial rise in reported fraud, boosted by a rise in identity theft and online scams costing the UK economy £63m per year.[5] To help tackle these crimes, the charity has created a Game of Fraud website, featuring a survey with information on a variety of frauds, including romance fraud, courier fraud and online shopping fraud. Through a series of short questions, the quiz identifies which fraud types members of the public may be most vulnerable to and gives a detailed description of how they may be targeted.[6]

Human Trafficking

Crimestoppers asks the public to help prevent human trafficking by passing on anonymously any information they have, no matter how small, about forced labour exploitation. Human trafficking is the second most profitable crime type in the world, second only to drugs, with an annual trade value of around $32 billion. Hundreds of men, women and children are identified as potential victims of labour trafficking in the UK each year, and the figure is rising.[7][8]

Catching UK criminals abroad

Crimestoppers works with partners including the National Crime Agency and the UK Border Agency to track down UK criminals that are believed to be on the run in Europe.

Operation Captura is Crimestoppers’ campaign that aims to track down UK criminals on the run in Spain. Spain has always been a popular place for UK criminals to hide, but in 2004 European Arrest Warrants came into effect, making it easier to extradite criminals. Operation Captura works by publicising the names and faces of wanted criminals who are believed to be in Spain, so people there can identify them and provide information as to their whereabouts.[9]

In March 2010, Crimestoppers worked with the National Crime Agency, Meld Misdaad Anoniem and the Dutch Police to launch Operation Return. Operation Return aimed to track down six UK criminals that were believed to be on the run in the Netherlands. This list consisted of some of the UK's most dangerous criminals that were wanted for crimes that vary from drugs smuggling, the illegal sale of firearms, robbery, violence and rape. A second Operation Return appeal was made in Amsterdam in June 2011, a third in February 2014 and a fourth in March 2016.[10]

The Operation Zygos campaign targets fugitives hiding in Cyprus. The first arrest was made within 48 hours of the campaign launch when a man wanted for sexual offences against a child was located. Among those caught were also Wayne Smith and Julie Skelding, who were wanted for causing death by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice.[11]

Fearless

In April 2010, Crimestoppers launched Fearless, a dedicated youth service for 11 to 16-year-olds. Fearless replaced ShadowCS, Crimestoppers’ original youth brand. Fearless aims to educate and empower young people with information and advice about crimes that might affect them personally, their friends or their family. It includes an option for young people to pass on information about crime anonymously via an online form.[12]

Regional activities

Crimestoppers works at a grassroots level across the UK. Supported by a volunteer network, regional teams work alongside local police, businesses and other charities, launching campaigns and events to help make communities safer places to live.[13]

Rewards

Crimestoppers pays rewards for information that directly leads to an arrest. The amount paid can range between £50 and £1,000, depending on the severity of the crime and the significance of the information being communicated. They do not pay rewards for the recovery of stolen property. An individual's anonymity is never compromised by claiming a reward as, when an individual passes information on to Crimestoppers, they can request a special code. If that individual wants to check whether they are eligible for a reward, they are requested to call Crimestoppers again at a later date with the code they were originally issued with. Crimestoppers then inform the caller whether they are eligible for a reward. If they are, the caller can choose a bank branch and a date when they would like to collect the money. The caller then goes to the bank branch, provides them with the code and is issued with the cash reward.[14]

History

Origins in USA and Norfolk

Further information: Crime Stoppers

Crimestoppers originated in Albuquerque, USA in 1976, when a young man was shot dead during a robbery at a filling station, and having made little headway in finding the perpetrator, police decided to set up an anonymous phone line for witnesses to come forward with information. Within 72 hours, arrests were made, but what amazed the New Mexico police was the number of people giving information on other, unrelated crimes. So the Crimestoppers concept was born.[15][16]

Six years later, Detective Inspector Mike Cole from Norfolk Constabulary, learned about the scheme on a police visit to Peoria, in Illinois. He was impressed with how information was given anonymously, and also how callers giving information that led to an arrest put themselves in line for a reward payment from money donated by local businesses.

On his return to Great Yarmouth, Mike submitted a report to his chief superintendent and the chief constable, who gave their approval for a Norfolk scheme. However, it was by chance that Jim Carter, the manager of the local Woolworths, subsequently received a letter from Chief Superintendent Peter Howse asking for support. When Jim followed up on this letter and learnt about the Crimestoppers scheme, he saw it as a good opportunity to get the community involved in crime-fighting.

Other areas around the UK also learned of Crimestoppers and took it up around this time but there was no national, co-ordinated approach.

National operation

In 1985, PC Keith Blakelock was murdered during the riots at the Broadwater Farm Estate in London and the police appealed for information, stating that people knew who had been responsible but were frightened of coming forward.

Businessman Michael Ashcroft (later Lord Ashcroft) offered to provide the police with money for a reward to encourage somebody to come forward with information. This led to discussions with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, resulting in Ashcroft founding the establishment of a national operation in the UK in January 1988. He set up the charity and, together with some business colleagues who were also concerned about the rise in violent crime, they funded the UK operation calling it the Community Action Trust.

In many ITV regions, such as HTV, Granada, Thames and Tyne-Tees, appeals were broadcast at various times of the day but usually aired at around 15:25 or 18:25 on weekdays and after the live First Division Football match on Sundays from 1992 to the early 2000s when appeals were shown less on TV. A moving mouth montage on a grey background with the words Crime (in red) and Stoppers (in white) plus a theme composed by Rupert Gregson-Williams opened the appeal which would then feature a brief police reconstruction before showing the 0800 555 111 appeal telephone number.

The charity was renamed the Crimestoppers Trust in 1995; by then it had expanded to cover the whole of the UK as the other Crimestoppers’ schemes foundered or were encompassed within the charity. Initially, the administrative organisation was based on ITV regions, but the best model proved to be local county-based committees working in partnership with single police forces. The roll-out of this structure continues; there are now 44 volunteer committees across the UK.

Ashcroft has been Chairman of the Trustees of Crimestoppers for the last 20 years and remains a core donor to the charity.[17]

Website security flaws

For most of 2015 the Crimestoppers online reporting website, touted as secure and anonymous, received an "F" rating in industry standard security tests, using obsolete 20-year-old protocols that made it fundamentally insecure. Crimestoppers fixed these problems in November 2015, ahead of the National Crime Agency and Independent Police Complaints Commission, which still had unfixed problems of the same magnitude at that date.[18]

Results

According to their own statistics, the promise of anonymity has never been broken. As a result of the information given to Crimestoppers:[19]

  • Nearly 134,000 arrests and charges have been made since 1988.
  • Over 1.6 million actionable calls have been received since 1988.
  • More than £131 million of stolen goods has been recovered since 1988.
  • More than £326 million of drugs have been seized since 1988.
  • Around 14 people are arrested every day as a result of information given to Crimestoppers.
  • At least 23% of all information received helps the police deliver an outcome, from arresting someone to preventing a crime.

References

  1. ^ "Charity overview".
  2. ^ Shaw, Danny (18 October 2018). "Why more young people are using Crimestoppers". BBC News. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Most Wanted | Crimestoppers".
  4. ^ "Campaigns | Crimestoppers".
  5. ^ cms-user20. "Fraud". www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2022. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ "Game of Fraud".
  7. ^ "Campaigns | Crimestoppers".
  8. ^ "Analysis of 2020 National Human Trafficking Hotline Data | Polaris". polarisproject.org. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Campaigns | Crimestoppers".
  10. ^ "Campaigns | Crimestoppers".
  11. ^ "Campaigns | Crimestoppers".
  12. ^ . Archived from the original on 5 November 1999.
  13. ^ "Community | Crimestoppers".
  14. ^ "Give information | Crimestoppers".
  15. ^ MacAleese, Greg (12 July 2016). Crime Stoppers: The Inside Story. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 9781533259721.
  16. ^ Millar, Cal (7 August 2014). What Is Crime Stoppers. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 9781500645939.
  17. ^ "About the charity | Crimestoppers".
  18. ^ Leyden, John (20 November 2015). "Crimestoppers finally revamps weak crypto. Take your time guys". The Register. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  19. ^ "About the charity | Crimestoppers".

External links

March 09, 2023
crimestoppers, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, section, relies, largely, entirely, single, source, relevant, discussion, found, talk, page, please. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This section relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Crimestoppers UK news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2014 This article contains content that is written like an advertisement Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view April 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article relies excessively on references to primary sources Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources Find sources Crimestoppers UK news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Crimestoppers Trust is an independent crime fighting charitable organisation in the United Kingdom Crimestoppers operates the 0800 555 111 telephone number allowing people to call anonymously to pass on information about crime People can also give information anonymously via an anonymous online form on the Crimestoppers website Callers are not required to give their name or any personal information Crimestoppers has more than 100 staff and almost 350 volunteers and has an income of more than 4 5M a year 1 2 Contents 1 Most Wanted 2 Campaigns 2 1 Scratch and Sniff Cannabis Cultivation Campaign 2 2 Game of Fraud 2 3 Human Trafficking 3 Catching UK criminals abroad 4 Fearless 5 Regional activities 6 Rewards 7 History 7 1 Origins in USA and Norfolk 7 2 National operation 7 3 Website security flaws 8 Results 9 References 10 External linksMost Wanted EditIn November 2005 Crimestoppers launched a Most Wanted section of its website where members of the public can look at images of people currently wanted by UK law enforcement agencies Most Wanted is a UK wide online database where individuals wanted by the police and other law enforcement bodies such as the National Crime Agency HMRC and the UK Border Force can be found clarification needed and information passed on about them anonymously by the public As part of the Most Wanted section the Unknowns Gallery was launched in February 2014 This allows law enforcement users to upload images of individuals that they require names for often taken from e fits or CCTV stills With the gallery searchable by both crime type and location this makes it easier for the public to put names to these faces without having to reveal their own identities 3 Campaigns EditCrimestoppers runs a large number of campaigns each year educating the public about different crime types and appealing for information Examples of campaigns include Scratch and Sniff Cannabis Cultivation Campaign Edit Starting in 2013 the charity and police forces across the country distributed scratch and sniff cards to the public to educate and inform them about the signs to spot and the specific smell of cannabis when it is growing The campaign was designed to target cultivation by criminal gangs so hot spot areas as informed by police intelligence were targeted by 17 police forces throughout England and Wales Due to the campaign information passed to Crimestoppers on cannabis cultivation contributed to new cannabis farms being discovered and a number of arrests 4 Game of Fraud Edit Crime figures show a substantial rise in reported fraud boosted by a rise in identity theft and online scams costing the UK economy 63m per year 5 To help tackle these crimes the charity has created a Game of Fraud website featuring a survey with information on a variety of frauds including romance fraud courier fraud and online shopping fraud Through a series of short questions the quiz identifies which fraud types members of the public may be most vulnerable to and gives a detailed description of how they may be targeted 6 Human Trafficking Edit Crimestoppers asks the public to help prevent human trafficking by passing on anonymously any information they have no matter how small about forced labour exploitation Human trafficking is the second most profitable crime type in the world second only to drugs with an annual trade value of around 32 billion Hundreds of men women and children are identified as potential victims of labour trafficking in the UK each year and the figure is rising 7 8 Catching UK criminals abroad EditCrimestoppers works with partners including the National Crime Agency and the UK Border Agency to track down UK criminals that are believed to be on the run in Europe Operation Captura is Crimestoppers campaign that aims to track down UK criminals on the run in Spain Spain has always been a popular place for UK criminals to hide but in 2004 European Arrest Warrants came into effect making it easier to extradite criminals Operation Captura works by publicising the names and faces of wanted criminals who are believed to be in Spain so people there can identify them and provide information as to their whereabouts 9 In March 2010 Crimestoppers worked with the National Crime Agency Meld Misdaad Anoniem and the Dutch Police to launch Operation Return Operation Return aimed to track down six UK criminals that were believed to be on the run in the Netherlands This list consisted of some of the UK s most dangerous criminals that were wanted for crimes that vary from drugs smuggling the illegal sale of firearms robbery violence and rape A second Operation Return appeal was made in Amsterdam in June 2011 a third in February 2014 and a fourth in March 2016 10 The Operation Zygos campaign targets fugitives hiding in Cyprus The first arrest was made within 48 hours of the campaign launch when a man wanted for sexual offences against a child was located Among those caught were also Wayne Smith and Julie Skelding who were wanted for causing death by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice 11 Fearless EditIn April 2010 Crimestoppers launched Fearless a dedicated youth service for 11 to 16 year olds Fearless replaced ShadowCS Crimestoppers original youth brand Fearless aims to educate and empower young people with information and advice about crimes that might affect them personally their friends or their family It includes an option for young people to pass on information about crime anonymously via an online form 12 Regional activities EditCrimestoppers works at a grassroots level across the UK Supported by a volunteer network regional teams work alongside local police businesses and other charities launching campaigns and events to help make communities safer places to live 13 Rewards EditCrimestoppers pays rewards for information that directly leads to an arrest The amount paid can range between 50 and 1 000 depending on the severity of the crime and the significance of the information being communicated They do not pay rewards for the recovery of stolen property An individual s anonymity is never compromised by claiming a reward as when an individual passes information on to Crimestoppers they can request a special code If that individual wants to check whether they are eligible for a reward they are requested to call Crimestoppers again at a later date with the code they were originally issued with Crimestoppers then inform the caller whether they are eligible for a reward If they are the caller can choose a bank branch and a date when they would like to collect the money The caller then goes to the bank branch provides them with the code and is issued with the cash reward 14 History EditOrigins in USA and Norfolk Edit Further information Crime Stoppers Crimestoppers originated in Albuquerque USA in 1976 when a young man was shot dead during a robbery at a filling station and having made little headway in finding the perpetrator police decided to set up an anonymous phone line for witnesses to come forward with information Within 72 hours arrests were made but what amazed the New Mexico police was the number of people giving information on other unrelated crimes So the Crimestoppers concept was born 15 16 Six years later Detective Inspector Mike Cole from Norfolk Constabulary learned about the scheme on a police visit to Peoria in Illinois He was impressed with how information was given anonymously and also how callers giving information that led to an arrest put themselves in line for a reward payment from money donated by local businesses On his return to Great Yarmouth Mike submitted a report to his chief superintendent and the chief constable who gave their approval for a Norfolk scheme However it was by chance that Jim Carter the manager of the local Woolworths subsequently received a letter from Chief Superintendent Peter Howse asking for support When Jim followed up on this letter and learnt about the Crimestoppers scheme he saw it as a good opportunity to get the community involved in crime fighting Other areas around the UK also learned of Crimestoppers and took it up around this time but there was no national co ordinated approach National operation Edit In 1985 PC Keith Blakelock was murdered during the riots at the Broadwater Farm Estate in London and the police appealed for information stating that people knew who had been responsible but were frightened of coming forward Businessman Michael Ashcroft later Lord Ashcroft offered to provide the police with money for a reward to encourage somebody to come forward with information This led to discussions with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police resulting in Ashcroft founding the establishment of a national operation in the UK in January 1988 He set up the charity and together with some business colleagues who were also concerned about the rise in violent crime they funded the UK operation calling it the Community Action Trust In many ITV regions such as HTV Granada Thames and Tyne Tees appeals were broadcast at various times of the day but usually aired at around 15 25 or 18 25 on weekdays and after the live First Division Football match on Sundays from 1992 to the early 2000s when appeals were shown less on TV A moving mouth montage on a grey background with the words Crime in red and Stoppers in white plus a theme composed by Rupert Gregson Williams opened the appeal which would then feature a brief police reconstruction before showing the 0800 555 111 appeal telephone number The charity was renamed the Crimestoppers Trust in 1995 by then it had expanded to cover the whole of the UK as the other Crimestoppers schemes foundered or were encompassed within the charity Initially the administrative organisation was based on ITV regions but the best model proved to be local county based committees working in partnership with single police forces The roll out of this structure continues there are now 44 volunteer committees across the UK Ashcroft has been Chairman of the Trustees of Crimestoppers for the last 20 years and remains a core donor to the charity 17 Website security flaws Edit For most of 2015 the Crimestoppers online reporting website touted as secure and anonymous received an F rating in industry standard security tests using obsolete 20 year old protocols that made it fundamentally insecure Crimestoppers fixed these problems in November 2015 ahead of the National Crime Agency and Independent Police Complaints Commission which still had unfixed problems of the same magnitude at that date 18 Results EditAccording to their own statistics the promise of anonymity has never been broken As a result of the information given to Crimestoppers 19 Nearly 134 000 arrests and charges have been made since 1988 Over 1 6 million actionable calls have been received since 1988 More than 131 million of stolen goods has been recovered since 1988 More than 326 million of drugs have been seized since 1988 Around 14 people are arrested every day as a result of information given to Crimestoppers At least 23 of all information received helps the police deliver an outcome from arresting someone to preventing a crime References Edit Charity overview Shaw Danny 18 October 2018 Why more young people are using Crimestoppers BBC News Retrieved 18 October 2018 Most Wanted Crimestoppers Campaigns Crimestoppers cms user20 Fraud www nationalcrimeagency gov uk Retrieved 21 October 2022 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a last has generic name help Game of Fraud Campaigns Crimestoppers Analysis of 2020 National Human Trafficking Hotline Data Polaris polarisproject org 6 January 2022 Retrieved 21 October 2022 Campaigns Crimestoppers Campaigns Crimestoppers Campaigns Crimestoppers The Official Web Pages of Douglas Hall Archived from the original on 5 November 1999 Community Crimestoppers Give information Crimestoppers MacAleese Greg 12 July 2016 Crime Stoppers The Inside Story CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN 9781533259721 Millar Cal 7 August 2014 What Is Crime Stoppers CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN 9781500645939 About the charity Crimestoppers Leyden John 20 November 2015 Crimestoppers finally revamps weak crypto Take your time guys The Register Retrieved 4 January 2016 About the charity Crimestoppers External links EditCrimestoppers UK Fearless Crimestoppers Most Wanted Crimestoppers Trust registered charity no 1108687 Charity Commission for England and Wales Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Crimestoppers UK amp oldid 1139126137, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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