Gazette supplement on drugs awareness and crime prevention.

Crimes are being solved, and the bad guys are going to jail, thanks to a three-way partnership between Police, the public and the media.

It was in 1995 that Crime Stoppers was officially-launched, with Premier David Saul and Police Commissioner Colin Coxall each giving their full support to the project which offers cash rewards to those who provide information regarding acts of crime.

Based on an idea first put into practice in New Mexico more than 20 years ago, the scheme has blossomed into a vital part of Bermuda's crime fighting mechanism.

"Crime Stoppers in a confidential police information gathering system, created to help detect crime and arrest offenders, '' explained David Carruthers, the group's vice-chairman. "It is a three-way partnership between the Police, the public and the media.

"All three have a part to play and the participation of each is vital. Anyone with information about criminals or crime can call a toll-free telephone number, 1-800-623-8477 and talk anonymously to a specially trained police operative. We absolutely guarantee two things; first, your call cannot be traced, and second, we will not ask your name, nor make any attempt to identify you.

"Our primary concern is protecting the anonymity of the caller. We protect that at all costs and because it is anonymous, we get an average of one call per working day.

"The Police code-a-phone only gets one call a month. And whilst a lot of the information doesn't lead to the recovery of narcotics, it contributes to the background. We do not exercise any judgment over what happens to the information. It's not always appropriate that immediate action be taken.

"The Police don't act purely on a Crime Stoppers tip. It's only a piece of information on which the Police have to build a case. A lot of it is useful background information but some results in immediate recovery.'' According to Crime Stoppers Chairman, McNeil Warner, the idea was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico with the death of a service station owner.

"Six weeks after the night Michael Carmen was killed, despite their best efforts, the Police had made no progress towards solving this hideous crime,'' he said. "One of the two detectives working on this murder case was a determined young officer named Greg MacAlesse, and out of desperation, he approached the manager of a local TV station and asked if they would re-enact the crime on one of their newscasts.

"The rest of the story is legend. The morning after the broadcast, a young man called the detective. He reported that he had heard the shotgun blast and that shortly thereafter, a car with two men inside had passed him at high speed heading away from the gas station. He thought he recognised the car as belonging to a resident of a nearby apartment complex. This information was the missing link needed to solve the murder. By finding the killers' getaway vehicle, Police were able to trace one of the gunmen. The second man was soon arrested and another six armed robberies were solved as a result of this investigation. The crime was solved within 72 hours of the tip being received.'' Neither the officers nor the two criminals had any idea of the good that would come from that success, added group treasurer, David Pugh.

"The two criminals who gunned down Michael Carmen at his Albuquerque gas station in July 1976 had no idea that they would be responsible for a world-wide anti-crime movement that has resulted in around half a million major crimes being solved,'' he said.

"They didn't realise, that as a result of their cold-blooded and pointless killing, more than 80,000 criminals would find themselves behind bars. Nor did they realise that their crime would become the model for two major television network shows.

"This was the birth of Crime Stoppers, and under the energy and commitment of Greg MacAleese, ever since then it just hasn't stopped growing. Albuquerque Crime Stoppers became Crime Stoppers USA, and Crime Stoppers USA became Crime Stoppers International. There are now more than 1,200 Crime Stoppers programmes operating in over 20 countries.'' Crime Stoppers received 454 calls -- more than one a day -- in its first year of operation, said Mr. Carruthers.

An initiative which began under former Police Commissioner, Lennie Edwards and his assistant, Wayne Perinchief, each of Crime Stoppers' three arms worked then, as they do today, to complement their partners, he explained.

"At that time it was still a Force, not a Service, but we make no bones about it, it is our intention to make Crime Stoppers Bermuda a real FORCE in our community,'' he said.

"(As our first Police Liaison Officer, Assistant Commissioner) Perinchief did a fine job of getting things started and his successor, Archie Husbands, continues to provide invaluable assistance and wise advice to both the civilian board and his dedicated Police team.

"We are very fortunate to have as our first Public Relations Director, Evelyn James Barnett, who has done a tremendous job of co-ordinating efforts to get Crime Stoppers firmly established in the public psyche.

"The public involvement is led by the chairman of the eleven-person Board of Directors, McNeil Warner.

"The other directors come from many different sectors of the community -- the banks, insurance companies, small businesses, churches, the media, concerned citizens and, of course, the Island's service clubs.

"The third side to the triangle, the media, has also responded well to the challenge. The radio and TV stations, and all the print media have been extremely supportive and have played their part to perfection.'' Most major crimes are not solved by brilliant investigation, rather as a direct result of information provided by the public, explained Mr. Warner, and this is how the scheme achieves its success.

"However, many citizens are reluctant to provide this information for two reasons -- fear and apathy. The Crime Stoppers programme attempts to overcome these two barriers.

"For those people who are afraid of retaliation from the criminal element, we have created a system that allows callers to remain completely anonymous. And for those citizens who are apathetic, our system provides cash rewards for any information which contributes to an arrest, a charge being laid, or to the recovery of drugs or stolen goods.'' McNeil Warner, chairman of Crime Stoppers DRUGS DGS