The 'Say Something' initiative started in Shepparton yesterday to remind people of the role they play in community safety by reporting information confidentially to Crime Stoppers.
The Dob in a Dealer campaign saw a 300 per cent growth in Crime Stoppers reports during a two-week period in Shepparton last November.
On the back of that result, Shepparton police Local Area Commander Inspector Troy Hargadon is urging people to continue supplying any information about illegal activity.
“We have had a number of incidents in recent times where information provided by the community through Crime Stoppers and other methods has been very successful in enabling us to achieve some great results,” he said.
“It might be something as small as a suspicious car or something as significant as someone loitering around a premises after-hours ... these are all small snippets which certainly piece together a big puzzle for us.”
Crime Stoppers Victoria's senior media co-ordinator Srithar Visuasam said the Say Something campaign would be leveraging social media to encourage locals to contact Crime Stoppers.
Since its foundation in 1987, information from Crime Stoppers Victorian has led to more than 24,000 arrests, 93,000 charges and $250 million worth of property, drug and cash being recovered.
Statistics show the information provided helps Victoria Police solve around 40 per cent of all crimes each year.
While the statistics have been positive, Mr Visuasam said the campaign would reiterate people who provide information would remain anonymous.
“We don’t have caller ID ... we don’t trace IP addresses, any information you provide gets noted and then gets forwarded on to the relevant investigator to form part of their investigation,” he said.
Inspector Hargadon said he hoped the campaign would create conversation in the community, and he thanked people who had provided information to Crime Stoppers in the past.
“It might be something like someone driving without a licence, to organised crime such as stealing cars, and breaking and entering into people’s homes,” he said.
“It can be anonymous, it remains anonymous and it certainly is very valuable to us to assist in our investigations to maintain that high level of community safety that we’re experiencing here in Shepparton.”
If you have information about a crime or any suspicious activity, call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a report online at crimestoppersvic.com.au
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