A crime-fighting charity has recorded a significant increase in its success rate in Tayside, with a near doubling of arrests from anonymous information.
A total of 32 people were arrested in Dundee, Angus and Perth and Kinross last year as a result of calls to Crimestoppers, an increase of 88% from the previous year when there were 17 arrests. The offences included violent crimes, drink-driving, drug dealing and sexual offences.
All were cases where the informants did not want to reveal their identities. Instead, without giving their names, they passed information about the suspicious activity to Crimestoppers via the charity’s phone line or website.
That information was in turn passed on to the police, who judged it to be of such quality that it allowed them to trace and apprehend people on evidence of them having committed crimes.
Sometimes the calls were so complete and based on irrefutable circumstances that they alone were sufficient to allow police to act. These cases included suspected drink drivers who failed breathalyser tests.
In other cases, the calls provided the missing link in a chain of evidence that allowed the police to arrest people they suspected had committed offences.
The number of calls to Crimestoppers about incidents in Tayside last year fell from 716 to 616 but there were still more than 50 a month.
The significant rise in the calls with a high quality of information is being hailed as significant by the charity.
Kate Jackson, national manager of Crimestoppers Scotland, said: ”The huge increase in arrests in the Tayside area in respect of calls and online reports to Crimestoppers clearly shows that people are not prepared to put up with wrong-doing and it is all thanks to them that quality information is being passed to us.
”Our promise of anonymity is an absolute guarantee so no one will know who or where we receive information from.”
She added: ”I would urge anyone with information about crime or criminals to contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. You will not be asked for your details, only what you know.”
Crimestoppers’ role in bringing criminals to justice in Tayside, where it has a board of volunteers, has extended beyond passing anonymous information to the police.
It has encouraged people to come forward by offering cash rewards for information leading to the capture of killers.
Crimestoppers put up a reward of £10,000 for information on the murderer of Perthshire pensioner Jenny Methven, a crime for which former Tayside special constable William Kean was jailed for life in August.
The charity is also offering a reward of up to £5,000 to help catch the killer of 50-year-old John McMurchie in Whitfield, Dundee.
The father-of-six was found severely injured outside 27 Fintry Terrace about 4am on August 12 and later died from his injuries at Ninewells Hospital.
Kate Jackson said: ”Any drivers, passengers or pedestrians who were around the Whitfield area that Sunday between 3am and 4am, who saw or heard anything unusual, please contact us anonymously, even if your information seems irrelevant.
”All genuine information is valuable to us and could help identify who is responsible for the sad murder of this innocent man whose life has been taken away from his family and loved ones.”
Information given directly to the police will not qualify for the Crimestoppers reward.
Crimestoppers operates throughout the UK and last year passed on information that led to 2,906 people being arrested and charged. It received 36,977 pieces of actionable information through calls and online forms.
A total of £38,406,352 worth of illegal drugs were seized and £770,506 worth of goods recovered.
Since the charity’s inception in 1988 more than 118,000 people have been arrested and charged with offences, including murder, rape, drug dealing, burglary, robbery and theft.
More than £123 million worth of stolen property has been recovered, and illegal drugs with a street value of more than £271 million have been seized.