"Crime Stoppers" Program Should Help Police

Working with the Chamber of Commerce and several community leaders, the Clayton Police Department is giving residents a new way to help them fight crime.

It's called "Crime Stoppers" and offers a special phone line where residents can anonymously leave information about crimes—and get a cash reward for doing it. The program has worked well in other towns over the years.

"It's good to provide a way for people to provide information to the police without having to come to court or even identify themselves," said Chief Glen Allen. "We have no way to identify callers on that line, so it's completely confidential."

The special Tip Line number is 919-359-TIPZ (8479). Police will follow-up on all information received on the line. If the information leads to an arrest, cash rewards of up to $2,500 are available. A Crime Stoppers web site is also in the works.

The reward money will come from a non-profit organization, Clayton Crime Stoppers, organized recently by several local businessmen. The group will raise money, mostly through donations, and then provide it for rewards. Already, the Johnston County Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police and SCA Adventures have donated $1,000 apiece and the town of Clayton has promised another $500 to get the program started.

Hensley Scott, owner of Clayton Residential Rentals, has agreed to be the new organization's first chairman. Joining him on the executive board are Vice Chairman Russell Cotten, Assistant Pastor of Mount Vernon Christian Church; Treasurer Sara Martin of Crescent Bank and Secretary Elaine Wilson, a local attorney.

“Crime Stoppers is a way to help the police and community work together in a partnership to take care of each other," Scott said. "Everyone is very passionate about any effort to lower crime rates, because it is the low crime rate we enjoy, plus the quality of our schools, which keeps attracting people to Clayton; we want to continue to make the Town of Clayton a wonderful place to live and work.”

Added to the various Neighborhood Watch programs around town, the new program should help police solve more crimes, Chief Allen said.

Already, violent crime in Clayton is on the decrease, and the Police Department's increasing level of sophistication in fighting it is getting the credit. Even traffic accidents and citations are declining.

According to the Crime Stoppers International 2008 Annual Report, the organization has helped catch nearly a half million felony suspects and solve nearly a million crimes in this country since its start in 1976—and many more across the world. The program's anonymous tips have helped police recover more than $4 billion in stolen property and illegal drugs. Last year, the program paid out more than $6.6 million in reward money and helped solve more than 100,000 crimes in this country alone.