The Miami cop ready to handle a flood of Crimestoppers calls from Bermuda has said: "We can put bad people behind bars!'' John Roper, of the Miami Dade Police Department, runs an office which will soon handle all Crimestoppers tip-offs from Bermuda.

The nerve centre has been switched away from a secret Hamilton office to the huge Florida city so anonymous callers can feel safe that their voice will not be recognised.

And Sgt. Roper urged more Bermudians to help Police nab criminals by calling Crimestoppers, which has handled around 700 tips since 1996.

He arrived in Bermuda late last week for a seminar with the Island's Crimestoppers board.

The directors, all representatives of community, sporting and business groups, compared notes with Sgt. Roper at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club on Saturday.

His wife Jean, former Chairman of Miami Crimestoppers, was also at the forum, along with Sgt. Rina Ebanks from the Cayman Islands.

The event was supervised by Sgt. Alex MacDonald, Bermuda Crimestoppers co-ordinator, and McNeil Warner, Bermuda Crimestoppers Chairman.

Sgt. MacDonald said the crimebusting hotline helped bust three men and recover $500,000 worth of cocaine last month.

And Sgt. Roper said Crimestoppers operators would soon be available to Bermuda for 11 hours a day, instead of eight.

Calls will be handled between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Bermuda time, once the Miami call centre is up and running later this month.

Calls to the Hamilton office could only be taken between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., although there was a 24-hour answering machine.

Sgt. Roper added: "Callers will now be able to get through to a detective 24 hours a day, because out of hours, the line will give out a pager number for emergencies.

"What people are really worried about is staying anonymous. This will ensure that for them, as Bermuda can be a small place.'' He said information would be faxed straight to Bermuda's Crimestoppers office.

Emergencies will be telephoned through on a special hotline.

He added: "The public are the eyes and ears of the community. We need them more than ever.

"And our message is that together, we can help put bad people behind bars.'' Crimestoppers is free, callers do not have to give their name and they can be eligible for a $1,000 reward, for information leading to an arrest.

People with information about any crime should call 1-800-623-TIPS, 1-800-623-8477.

Crimestoppers: Back row: Alex MacDonald, Rina Ebanks and McNeil Warner. Front: Jean and John Roper.

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