Crime Stoppers Regina sees record-breaking number of tips in 2019

It was a record year for Regina Crime Stoppers as the crime-fighting organization recorded 1,295 tips in 2019.

That's an 8.6 per cent increase over the previous record of 1,192 set in 2017. The anonymous tips last year resulted in 25 arrests, 62 charges and a total of 52 cases closed.

Regina Crime Stoppers president Craig Perrault says the group has been making a real effort to be more visible in the community, especially among Regina's newcomer and high school populations.

"Our board has really gotten interested in being able to go out and interact with people," he said. "It's a great way for us to sharpen our goals and our direction ... as well as just get interaction and face-to-face time." 

Perrault said Crime Stoppers Regina held 11 different outreach initiatives in 2019 and have six planned for 2020 already.

He said raising awareness about the organization is important, as some young people may not have heard about Crime Stoppers the same way past generations were informed about the group, through things like Crime of the Week television segments. 

Evan Bray, chief of the Regina Police Service, said Crime Stoppers plays a critical role in connecting the community to his investigators. 

"It's big," he said. 

"An investigation is often like putting together a puzzle and sometimes you know what that missing piece is, but you don't have it," he said.

"That Crime Stoppers tip can be the link to actually holding an offender accountable, helping a victim through the grieving process or through a challenging, traumatic situation, and so you can never underestimate the value of information like that." 

Bray also said the number of people calling in tips really "speaks volumes" to the faith and trust community members  put into the program. 

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said the substantial amount of tips received by Crime Stoppers shows that residents in Regina want to do what's best for the city.

"They know that they're going to help the community, that they're thinking about the community, not just themselves and they're thinking about how they can help solve crime," he said. "That's a good news story." 

He said the board has been doing a lot of good working reaching out into the community and through avenues like social media, and he feels it's paid off. 

"We're seeing the results today," he said. "The number of solved crimes, the number of people arrested, the property that's been brought in, these are all really positive signs the program is growing." 

Since its inception in 1984 Regina Crime Stoppers has received more than 22,600 tips.