Coffee features Crime Stoppers program

By MIKE NEUMANN
The Independent

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The April 14 Coffee with the Chief revealed some local confusion between a youth-centered Crimestoppers program that began in Woodstock in 1948 and today’s Crime Stoppers, with 1,200 branches worldwide, that collect tips for unsolved crimes.
More than three dozen attendees, including Crime Stoppers board members, listened as Detective Sgt. Kurt Rosenquist and former police chief Joe Marvin explained how today’s program works.
Chester Gould introduced the term “Crimestoppers” in “Dick Tracy” in 1947, giving a tip in the first panel of the Sunday comic strip for preventing crime. One year later, Gould and then-Woodstock Police Chief Emery “Tiny” Hansman recruited Woodstock youngsters for a Crimestoppers group. The young people received police badges and met with law enforcement officers who encouraged them to be good citizens and report crimes. The program continued into the 1960s, and then sporadically after that.
Crime Stoppers, in its current incarnation, began in Albuquerque, N.M., in 1976. Local detective Greg MacAleese, frustrated in his attempt to solve a gas station robbery and murder, contacted the media about the case and arranged for a reenactment of the crime to be shown on local television. Viewers could call a number to relay information anonymously; MacAleese offered a cash reward out of his own pocket. Within 72 hours of the airing of the reenactment, two suspects were under arrest.
With the blessing of Gould and the Tribune Company — which owned the rights to “Dick Tracy” — the model evolved into Crime Stoppers, a community program that aids police forces. Sometimes, local media assist by airing reenactments on television or running a summary of a cold case in the newspaper.
Woodstock Area Crime Stoppers began in 1983. Besides collecting crime tips and paying rewards, the program expanded to include the “Quick 50” component, in which high school students can receive $50 for tips about drugs or weapons at their schools. In a nod to its past, the group sponsors a Crime Stoppers breakfast for youngsters up to 10 years of age each June in conjunction with Dick Tracy Days.
Rosenquist told the crowd that Crime Stoppers combats the public’s fear and apathy in regard to crime. People leave tips anonymously so that they do not fear retaliation for revealing information. To spark interest in helping the police, cash rewards up to $1,000 are paid out for tips that lead to an arrest. Marvin, Woodstock Area Crime Stoppers board president, said anonymity is more attractive than the reward.
“A lot of times, people don’t care about the money,” he said.
Calls to the Crime Stoppers hot line, 1-800-762-STOP (7687) are answered at the Cary Police Department. The Crime Stoppers phone has no Caller-ID feature. Each caller is assigned a case number and told when to call back to check on the status of the case. Information is then faxed to the appropriate police department. In Woodstock, Rosenquist serves as the Crime Stoppers liaison. If the tip results in an arrest, the Crime Stoppers board, with Rosenquist’s advice, determines a reward amount. Two board members meet the tipster at a pre-arranged meeting place to hand over the cash reward.
“Do criminals ever tell on each other?” a resident asked.
“One criminal will turn in another,” said Marvin, “because of a need for cash.”
“There is no honor among thieves,” someone in the crowd murmured.
Marvin said that the hot line takes 12 to 15 calls a year pertaining to crimes in Woodstock. Most calls are about drugs, vandalism and minor gang activity, although over the years, calls have come in regarding arson, burglary and armed robbery.
“If we pay out a couple thousand dollars a year (in rewards), that’s a lot,” said Marvin.
One resident clarified that if someone sees a crime in progress, the witness should call 9-1-1.
“Thank you,” said Marvin. “Crime Stoppers does not take the place of police.”
The next four Coffees will feature area beat officers. Beat 22, west of Route 47 and north of South Street, will be the subject of the May Coffee. The public is invited at 7 p.m., May 12, to the training room of the Woodstock Police Station on

This article was published in the April 23, 2008 edition of The Woodstock Independent.