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Frequently Asked Questions

How To Be A Tipster?

Maybe you overhear someone bragging about having committed a crime. Maybe you know someone who is driving a stolen car......or is hiding from the Police......or has killed, raped or beaten up someone......or is a robber, burglar or drug dealer.

Or maybe you just see something that doesn't look right. A strange car. A person acting sneaky. A person with a gun or knife or other lethal weapon. People taking things out of a house, garage, business, car trunk or a railway car.

If you do, call Crimestoppers. If you aren't sure that what you saw or heard is really a crime, call anyway. Let law enforcement decide if it's worth investigating. It may be a piece of a clue to a big crime.

When you call, don't give your name. We won't ask for it. We don't want it. No one will know your name, not even us. We will give you a secret number that is yours alone.

Crimestoppers does not use caller I.D. or record telephone calls

Midlands Crimestoppers pays for tips in the Richland, Lexington, Aiken, Lancaster, Saluda, Edgefield, Barnwell, Clarendon, Fairfield, Orangeburg, Calhoun, Newberry, Lee, and Kershaw County areas. We cannot guarantee payment if tip information is received outside of our jurisdiction. Tip information received outside our jurisdiction will be turned over to the Crime Stoppers programs who cover those areas.

How Can I Give A Tip?

If you have any information about a crime that's been committed…

1. Call the Midlands Crimestoppers Tip Line… 1-888-CRIME-SC or submit a tip using our online tip form.
    

2. Your information will be taken in strictest confidence. Anonymity is protected and you never have to give your name.
    

3. You will be given a code number. This should be kept to yourself in order to remain anonymous.
    

4. After several weeks, call Crimestoppers back at 1-888-CRIME-SC, giving your confidential tip code number, and you will receive an update on the status of the investigation.
    

5. Tips that lead to the arrest of suspects, as well as the recovery of stolen property and drugs are eligible for cash rewards of up to $1,000, which are paid to tipsters on an anonymous basis.

Tell us what you know.....or suspect. We will tell you to call back to find out how it turned out......and whether you will get a reward.

Call us and you may get a cash reward up to $1,000. Also a better neighborhood. Less crime. Less fear. More peace of mind.

What Is Crimestoppers?

Crimestoppers is a citizen, media and police co-operative program designed to involve the public in the fight against crime.

Crimestoppers provides citizens with a vehicle to anonymously supply the police with information about a crime or potential crime of which they have knowledge.

Cash rewards are offered to people who call the program and their information leads to an arrest.

How Does Crimestoppers Work?

The Crimestoppers tip line is manned by trained personnel who receive, process, and pass on tip information to investigating officers. Callers are given a code number which is used in all subsequent calls and callers do not have to identify themselves.

A reward of up to $1,000 is offered to anyone providing information which leads to an arrest for a crime. Rewards may also be made for information leading to the recovery of stolen property, the seizure of illegal drugs or an arrest on an outstanding warrant.

The media is a very important component of Crimestoppers. An unsolved crime may be re-enacted and shown on television or may be publicized in a newspaper or aired on the radio. The media also brings the program to the attention of the public.

Who Administers The Crimestoppers Program?

A volunteer Board of Directors actively administers and is responsible for the program. Crimestoppers is a non-profit organization and is responsible for raising funds and the disbursements of rewards. The Board of Directors work in close cooperation with law enforcement and all areas of the media.

How Is The Crimestoppers Program Funded?

Midlands Crimestoppers is a Community Project supported by donations of money, goods or services. Contributions from individuals, corporations, clubs, professional associations, retailers, civic and social groups keep the Crimestoppers program functional. All donations to Midlands Crimestoppers are tax deductible.

How Did Crimestoppers Begin?

In July 1976, in Albuquerque New Mexico, a university student was killed during a gas station robbery. After 6 weeks of investigation the police had very few leads as to who was responsible. Police investigators thought that if the public was able to observe a reenactment of the crime on television this may lead to a citizen providing information that may lead to an arrest.

The police investigators were right. A caller contacted the police Department the next day after seeing the reenactment. The tip information was enough to lead the police to the two men who were responsible. Within 72 hours of the reenactment being aired, the police had solved the murder. This was the beginning of Crimestoppers.

Since the program started, there are now more than 950 Crimestoppers programs worldwide. More than 425,000 crimes have been solved since its inception and over $1 billion worth of stolen property and narcotics have been seized.