Crime Stoppers payouts up as economy sinks

A down economy appears to have prompted more Tri-Citians to turn in wanted criminals and collect reward money from Tri-Cities Crime Stoppers.

So far this year, Crime Stoppers has paid out $3,800 in rewards to 20 people, with $1,400 given just in October and November, said Mike Blatman, the law enforcement coordinator for Crime Stoppers.

"It kind of fluctuates, but it is up," Blatman said. "It's largely because of the economy and the holidays."

It's not clear yet if this will be a record year for reward payoffs.

Last year, $4,650 in rewards were paid, but Blatman attributes the high amount to a special "wanted" poster distributed in January.

Crime Stoppers featured 50 most wanted criminals in a special insert in the Herald at the start of 2007, and ended up paying $1,500 in rewards in January and February.

It also resulted in 33 arrests and 61 cases cleared, Blatman said.

This year, reward money paid is about $1,200 above the average of $2,667 a year, Blatman said.

In the 23 years Tri-Cities Crime Stoppers has been in operation, $61,350 in rewards have been paid to 619 people.

That may seem like a lot, but Blatman said they don't usually have many people claiming their rewards.

"There's still a majority of people who don't ask for rewards," Blatman said. "It's about that guarantee of anonymity. ... I think people want to get involved, but they want to get involved anonymously."

Last year, tips to Crime Stoppers helped officers arrest 122 people and clear 340 cases.

So far this year, 86 people have been caught and 168 cases cleared, Blatman said. Through Dec. 16, Crime Stoppers had received 408 tips -- 26 of those came in the first two weeks of December, which resulted in five arrests and 11 cases cleared.

In the past few weeks, tipsters have helped cops quickly track down fugitives featured in wanted bulletins.

Nichole D. Allen, 19, of Kennewick, was caught in Pasco the day after she was featured in a Crime Stoppers bulletin. Robert Soto, 25, of Pasco, was nabbed by Kennewick police the same day his picture and information were printed in the Herald.

Two weeks ago, Crime Stoppers released information on a man wanted for stealing a video game system from a Kennewick rental store. Police didn't know his identity, but released a photo of him that they pulled off the store's security video.

Within 15 minutes of sending the information to merchants and the media, a tipster called Crime Stoppers and provided the suspect's name and cell phone number.

The suspect hasn't been arrested yet -- he was in Oregon when detectives called him on his cell phone -- but officers know who he is now, Blatman said. Detectives are waiting to get a warrant for his arrest.

Tri-Cities Crime Stoppers is a nonprofit organization that is separate from the law enforcement agencies. Rewards paid don't come from agency or city budgets, Blatman said.

Everything, except Blatman's salary, is paid through fundraising efforts. That includes the rewards, a 24-hour answering service, equipment and administrative costs.

The Cardboard Boat Race on the Fourth of July is an annual Crime Stoppers fundraiser, and this year they had a special event at Tagaris Winery in Richland and a paper shred day. They also get some money from the Home Builders Association, because Crime Stoppers works with the association on construction site thefts, safety and security.

Next year, Crime Stoppers is planning a special fundraiser -- a crime scene motorcycle run -- Sept. 19. The idea is a play on the usual poker runs, but this will start with a crime scene scenario and bikers will go to different places to pick up clues. Some of the clues are legitimate and some aren't, and participants will use them to try to solve the crime.

The Cardboard Boat Race also will have a new category that will let people build a boat on race day -- they'll have about three hours -- and then race them to see who stays afloat and who sinks.

People with information about wanted criminals -- regardless if they've been featured in a Crime Stoppers bulletin -- can call 586-TIPS (586-8477) or visit www.tri citiescrimestoppers.org. Tips can also be sent by text message by writing "Text TIP 411" plus the message to CRIMES (274637).

The text tips is a new feature this year that hasn't quite caught on yet, Blatman said. Two tips have come through texts so far, he said. Crime Stoppers receives about 75 percent of its tips via the phone and the rest online.

The key to Crime Stoppers' success is anonymity, Blatman said. The phone line is staffed 24-hours a day with special operators who speak at least 16 different languages. If Blatman's at work, the calls go to him, but the caller ID on his phone only shows "Crime Stoppers."

The online tips go through a server based in Canada that strips off all personal identifiers, Blatman said. The law in Canada protects Crime Stoppers information so it can be subpoenaed, he said.

"So when we get a tip, we don't know where it's from," Blatman said. "We really truly don't have records."

Tipsters get a tip number that they can use to call back with more information, check where the suspect was arrested and even use to claim their reward money. Rewards are paid through a local bank using only the tip numbers, so Crime Stoppers officials never know who actually claims the rewards.

Crime Stoppers pays up to $1,000 for information that results in a felony arrest. Rewards are determined based on a matrix that takes in account whether the tip helped close an unsolved crime, the number of crimes involved, value of merchandise or drugs recovered and the risk to the person making a call.

The Crime Stoppers board of directors uses the matrix to ultimately settle on an amount.

The only catch to claiming a reward is that the tip has to be made through Crime Stoppers, Blatman said. People who call 911 to report a crime or wanted person don't qualify for a reward.