By Kit Darling
Brenda and I attended the celebration of the formation of Crime Stoppers in Hamilton on May 18th. It was held at the Chamber of Commerce and we were among the media partners to attend.
The event commemorated the launch of Crime Stoppers of Hamilton. It was through the efforts and support of the Chamber at the request of Chief Torrance that the first Crime Stoppers of Hamilton Board was initiated and incorporated on May 18, 1983 – the first in Ontario.
Chief of Police Gord Torrance had been to a conference in the southern U.S. where he learned about the Crime Stoppers programme. Since it was a community-based programme, it needed a community organization to get it going – the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.
Crime Stoppers is an independent charitable organization which raises funds to operate the programme. Citizens can provide information about a crime anonymously and possibly receive a reward for doing so. Since the beginning, over $125 million in stolen property and illegal drugs has been recovered. More than 6,000 arrests have been made and 10,000 cases cleared.
For more information or to donate go to www.crimestoppershamilton.com.
