Following its recent revitalisation, the Cayman Crime Stoppers programme is poised to become one of the major forces in crime detection and prevention throughout the Cayman Islands.
While the programme is not new to Cayman, having been in existence since its inception by the Chamber of Commerce in 1993, many aspects of its latest format are.
Stuart Bostock, President and CEO of leading security firm, The Security Centre, has chaired the Cayman Crime Stoppers board of directors in Cayman since 2004.
Mr. Bostock said: ‘Cayman Crime Stoppers has, in the past, proven extremely effective in helping local law enforcement agencies solve crimes.
‘The programme provides a crucial service to Cayman and we felt strongly that it was time to give it renewed momentum by raising its profile within the community.’
A new board of directors has been appointed, whose collective membership brings a wide range of expertise and knowledge.
The board, which comprises leaders of Cayman’s corporate community, is responsible for steering all operational matters, in particular the promotion of the programme and liaison with community partners and supporters.
Crime Stoppers is founded on the principle that law enforcement agencies, the community, the media and the programme itself can help prevent crime more effectively by working in partnership.
Tips and leads received via Crime Stoppers programmes the world over typically save law enforcement agencies many valuable man-hours and thousands of dollars when investigating crimes.
The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service welcomes the re-establishment of Cayman Crime Stoppers.
Robert Scotland, RCIPS Chief Inspector, said: ‘Tips received by the police service via Crime Stoppers provide us with a valuable source of information and insight which can make a significant difference to the speed and outcome of investigations.’
Mr. Scotland, who is also the Crime Stoppers programme’s Law Enforcement Liaison, added, ‘The RCIPS welcomes this opportunity to reestablish a close working relationship with Cayman Crime Stoppers.’
Cayman Crime Stoppers has refreshed its visual identity by updating the old telephone and handcuffs logo with a striking new open-hand icon, upheld in a bold ‘stop’ gesture. Mr. Bostock explained, ‘Whilst telephone calls to the tips-line remain an integral part of the Crime Stoppers formula, the previous telephone icon was looking a bit dated at the side of modern phone technology. We knew we had to reintroduce the programme with a fresh identity that would be instantly recognisable as Cayman Crime Stoppers.’
He added, ‘The tips-line telephone number is still a prominent part of the logo.’
Crime Stoppers works on the basis that anyone with information, which could help prevent or solve a crime, can offer it to the authorities anonymously by placing a call to the Crime Stoppers tips-line.
Callers in Cayman are rewarded of up to $1,000 should their call lead to the successful resolution of a case. Anonymity is the key feature as Crime Stoppers guarantees that the identity of the caller will never be requested.
Mr. Bostock said, ‘This is of paramount importance in a small community such as Cayman. Calls to the tips-line are free and are answered by the Crime Stoppers call-center in Miami, not by receptionists in the Cayman Islands, so the caller is completely protected from being identified.’
This means that the onus is on callers to track progress of the case, in order to determine whether they are due a reward.
The easy-to-remember Cayman Crime Stoppers tips-line number is 800 TIPS (800 8477), however callers are reminded that the number is not preceded by the digit one (1).
Cayman Crime Stoppers has lined up a full agenda to raise its profile in the Cayman Islands. Mr. Bostock announced that plans are under way to host a golf tournament fundraiser in June, centered around a shootout for an impressive prize-pot of one million dollars.
Whilst Cayman Crime Stoppers is expected to release more information on the million dollar shootout in the near future, interested parties can call Frank Brennan now on 926-5506.
Other plans on the horizon for Cayman Crime Stoppers include the establishment of a web-presence, a membership programme, an SMS communication platform and the implementation of new software to help further protect the anonymity of callers and process tips more efficiently.
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