Whether you’ve witnessed a crime or have information that could help solve a crime, the Greater Springfield Area Crime Stoppers program encourages members of the community to come forward and share it. And you don’t even have to tell them your name if you don’t want to.
“There’s always been a segment of the population that is uncomfortable about contacting law enforcement, so Crime Stoppers is absolutely an essential component in solving crimes,” said Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams. “Some people do it for the money, but what I’ve found in 30-plus years of law enforcement is that a lot of people provide these tips because they want to help solve a crime.”
Since its inception, tips submitted to the Greater Springfield Crime Stoppers have led to 2,772 arrests, 611 fugitive arrests, 96 weapons recovered and 3,117 cases cleared.
The Crime Stoppers program relies on cooperation between the police, the media, and citizens to provide anonymous information about crime and criminals in the Greene County area with a major focus on crime within the Springfield city limits.
Crime Stoppers is designed to develop information used to solve felony crimes. Cash rewards of up to $1,000 are available for tips that directly lead to a felony arrest or felony drug seizure. Rewards are provided at the discretion of the civilian board of directors.
Crime Stoppers is a program of Community Partnership of the Ozarks (a non-profit) that obtains money through fundraising and donations; no tax dollars are used to pay rewards.
This includes advertising donations of television and radio air time to make Crime Stoppers an effective crime fighting tool within the community. The Crime Stoppers program does utilize local law enforcement for tip investigations but there is no contact information obtained for the tipster, no caller ID, and the conversation is not recorded.
All tip submissions are kept anonymous by using a tip hotline number (417-869-TIPS), or a secure online website (P3tips.com). There is also a discreet P3 app available for smart phone that can be downloaded via Google Play or the Apple App Store. The program asks tipsters not to submit tip information through the Crime Stoppers Facebook page as it is not secure or anonymous.
“Crime Stoppers provides a unique opportunity for citizens to take a more active role in keeping their community safe,” says Springfield Police Officer Rachel Kleeman, who coordinates the local program.
“We’re more interested in the information you provide, not who you are.”
If you have information relating to crimes, you can submit an anonymous tip to 417-869-TIPS or submit tips online at www.P3tips.com.
For more information, or to make a tax-deductible donation to the Greater Springfield Crime Stoppers program, please visit https://www.springfieldcrimestoppers.com. Follow Crime Stoppers on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GSACrimeStop/.
The Greater Springfield Area Crime Stoppers Program is a member of Crime Stoppers USA.
Interested in serving on the Crime Stoppers board? Pease call 417-864-1810.