Atlanta police and its Atlanta Police Foundation have a new Crime Stoppers program, says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It is a 24-hour anonymous hotline that rewards tipsters for information that leads to an arrest and indictment in crimes that occur in the metro area. Atlanta was the only major U.S. city without such a program. Crime Stoppers claims a 95 percent conviction rate. The program got its start in Albuquerque, N.M., in 1976.
Crime Stopper operators will take calls or e-mails concerning crime that happens around the metro area, then forward the information to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. Callers or e-mailers won’t be required to give their identity and the calls will be untraceable through caller ID or the Internet. Rewards could range from $200 to $2,000. The police foundation has raised $400,000 – including $300,000 earmarked for rewards – through its Campaign for a Safer City to fund the initiative for the next three years.
Link: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2007/01/29/0129crimestoppers.html