Statistics tell us that 99% of Americans will be affected by crime and that 98% of those affected could have prevented it due to our being creatures of habit and giving the criminal the opportunity.

For example, it takes 2-3 seconds for a thief to steal a car and more than half the cars stolen have the keys left in them at the time of theft. ** significant here is that only 60% of cars that are stolen ever have someone prosecuted for the theft ? cases like these are where Crimestoppers comes in ? capturing and also getting the word out to help law enforcement prevent it.

Crimestoppers' board of directors has no paid staff - we're local volunteers.

Crimestoppers survives off donations.

Crimestoppers covers 13 counties and 56 law enforcement jurisdictions.

Crimestoppers is a private, non-profit organization started in the Midlands in 1982. It is completely supported by volunteers and donations.

97% of all dollars donated to Crimestoppers is used to pay tipsters.

To date, information received through Crimestoppers has solved 6409 cases and helped recover property and seize narcotics totaling $14,173,78.

The Crimestoppers network has many benefits, including: improving the quality of life in the Midlands; helping develop a safer Midlands community; deterring crime; serving as a communications tool and bringing multiple law enforcement entities together with corporate citizens; guaranteed anonymity for callers who provide information that directly leads to an arrest.

The Crimestoppers news segments air every night and average 275 stories per month ? television, radio, newspaper and electronic news outlets supporting the program.

Tip to payout ? tip received, number assigned, arrest made, tipster paid through tip number never showing identification.

Why do people report crime - some for the right thing and $. There are many reasons a person might call the Crimestoppers hotline. They may have witnessed a crime or overheard someone talking about one.

What does Crimestoppers do for law enforcement ? help them communicate about trends, help them get suspect information out to the public, provide anonymous vehicle for reporting tips and working to bring law enforcement together to solve crime and work closely together.

What can the public do for law enforcement and Crimestoppers?

Tell a friend about how the program works and survives or Volunteer to help with fundraisers and grant applications or donate funds or time.

The primary function of Crimestoppers is to provide an outlet through which anonymous callers can provide information about unsolved crimes. Callers who telephone the 24-hour hotline are immediately given a code number. If their tip results in an arrest, the caller is eligible for a reward up to $1,000. The Crimestoppers board of directors meets monthly to determine who should receive rewards and how much money each reward will represent. Banks then cooperate with the organization by paying rewards to those people who correctly identify themselves with their individual Crimestoppers code number.