Crimestoppers doubles cash reward for holiday season
GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
People are turning on the holiday music, hanging decorations, traveling, and shopping.
But just like the story of how the Grinch stole Christmas, crooks are out to steal and spoil one’s holiday spirit.
That’s why Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers is doubling rewards for tips that lead to an arrest for robberies, armed robberies, and felony shoplifting.
Each case is different, but crime stoppers normally pay up to $1,000 for tips that lead to arrests.
This time of year, your reward could double to up to $2,000.
“We just recently solved a burglary by identifying a suspect of of a ring camera,” said Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott. “We encourage it. Get the cameras up. It just gives us that much more, as far as time-wise, in trying to catch these individuals. We’ve seen individuals, I’ve had calls myself, they’ve got photographs of people on their ring cameras that walked up to the door and then left because they knew they were on video. For example, an individual we arrested the other day was not even from our county. But by taking this picture off the ring camera and putting it out to the public, we were quickly able to identify him and had him in custody within a couple of days.”
Security systems and cameras may be one of the best ways to ensure that holiday hustlers land in jail and your packages are on the porch.
“We see an uptick in crimes,” Scott said. “Criminals are opportunists. They know everybody is buying Christmas they know they’ve got cash in their pockets and retailers are getting hit with shoplifting. So, we’re just trying to help give a little more incentive to help catch these criminals.”
President of Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers and Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said they rely on the community help, but they don’t want your name – just information.
“We never know who you are. It all remains anonymous in the same way that the tips are paid out, that money also remains anonymous,” Scott said. “It’s tried and true. This has been fought in courts before where defense attorneys have tried to get information that came from Crimestoppers. The courts have stood behind it saying this is anonymous, and we don’t have to release that information. It’s just information that puts us in the right direction in trying to make an arrest.”
In doing this, Scott says it makes your community a safer place to live.
And he’d like to remind citizens, if you know something, say something.
To leave a tip, you can call Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 1-800-530-7151 or you can leave a tip on the P3 tips app.
The doubling of rewards will run until the new year.
