The new police divisional commander for Tayside has commended the role of Crimestoppers on its 25th anniversary for its valuable role in providing an independent means for the public to report criminal activity.
Chief Superintendent Hamish Macpherson said: ‘‘The information we receive is greatly valued.
“On countless occasions, it has proved crucial in assisting our inquiries, identifying criminals, taking them off of our streets and putting them before the courts.
“It is vital that people, who might not otherwise call the police, have that avenue to provide information anonymously to Crimestoppers.
“We fully appreciate that people can and do have fears or reservations about the implications of getting directly involved with the law enforcement agencies.
“Crimestoppers provides us with a link that we, as the police, would not otherwise have, with members of the public who want to speak out to combat crime, but are cautious of what it might mean for them personally.”
The crime-fighting charity which invites people to report criminal activity anonymously via the 0800 555 111 hotline recorded a significant increase in its success rate in Tayside last year, with a near doubling of arrests in Dundee, Angus and Perth and Kinross from anonymous tip-offs.
Thirty-two people were arrested for offences including violent crimes, drink driving, drug dealing and sexual offences.
All were cases where the informants did not want to reveal their identities but without giving their names and in complete confidence, they passed information about the suspicious activity to Crimestoppers.
That information was in turn passed on to the police and other agencies. Sometimes the tip-offs were based on such irrefutable circumstances that they were sufficient to allow police to act directly against the lawbreakers.
In other cases the tip-offs provided the missing link in a chain of evidence. Crimestoppers also encouraged people to come forward by offering cash rewards for information leading to the capture of killers.