When a criminal case is not solved within a reasonable length of time the leads diminish, the trail becomes cold, evidence becomes unobtainable, and the crime becomes increasingly more difficult to solve. For these reasons most police departments' files contain many unsolved cases. When this occurs, a method is needed that will re-awaken public interest in the case and also call upon citizens for help in providing the needed information that could lead to the solution of the crime.
Citizens may witness all or part of a crime without being aware of what they have seen. Consequently, they may unknowingly possess key information that could aid the police in solving the crime. In some instances, citizens do not contact police with information out of fear that if they reveal their identity they will expose themselves or their families to acts of retaliation by the criminal. In most instances these citizens will not come forward with information unless they can be assured that they will be provided with complete anonymity by the police. Finally, they are uncertain who they should contact in the police organization and what procedures to follow in providing their information.
The Crime Stoppers program provides a method of overcoming these obstacles by involving citizens in solving felony crimes. Through the Crime Stoppers program, citizens who have knowledge of a specific crime are encouraged, either for civic or monetary reasons, to come forward and give police this information. The program allows any citizen providing information to remain COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS if they so desire. In this way the citizen is assured that his/her identity will be protected. Crime Stopper programs need the support of various representatives of the news media such as television, newspaper, and radio to assure that the message reaches the public.
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