LITTLE ROCK — Across the country, the number of tips to the police from people hoping to collect reward money has risen.
Calls to the Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers hot line in the first quarter of this year were up 30 percent over last year. San Antonio had a 44 percent increase. Cities and towns from Detroit to Omaha to Beaufort County, N.C., all report increases of 25 percent or more in the first quarter, with tipsters telling operators they need the money for rent, light bills or baby formula.
"For this year, everyone that's called has pretty much been just looking for money," said Sgt.Lawrence Beller, who answers Crime Stoppers calls at the Sussex County, N.J., sheriff's office. "That's as opposed to the last couple of years, where some people were just sick of the crime and wanting to do something about it."
As a result, many programs report a substantial increase in Crime Stopper-related arrests and recovered property, as callers turn in neighbors, grandchildren or former boyfriendsin exchange for a little cash.
On Friday, a woman called the Regional Crime Stoppers line in Macon, Ga., to find out when she could pick up her reward money for a recent tip. She was irritated to learn that she would have to wait until Monday.
"I'm in a bind, I'm really in a bind," she told the hot-line operator. "There's a lot of stuff I know, but I didn't open my mouth. If I weren't in a bind, I wouldn't open my mouth."
When she learned the money was not available, she said she would call back with the whereabouts of another suspect whom she had just seen "going down the road."
Elaine Cloyd, the president of Crime Stoppers U.S.A., a national organization of local tip programs, said that not all of the 323 programs in the country had reported an increase in calls, and that some, like those in Lafayette, La., and Broward County, Fla., attributed most of their spike to increased publicity or technological improvements such as accepting tips by text message. But there was no doubt, Cloyd said, that the faltering economy was a significant factor.
"When the economy gets rough, people have to be creative," she said. "They might give a tip where they wouldn't have in the past."
For tips that lead to arrests, programs in most places pay $50 to $1,000, with some jurisdictions giving bonuses for help solving the most serious crimes or an extra "gun bounty" if a weapon is recovered. In Sussex County, the average payment for a tip that results in an arrest is $400, Beller said.
"Usually you deliver the money in an unmarked car and meet them somewhere," he said. "But these people come right to the office and walk right through the front door."
Some Crime Stoppers coordinators say their program appeals to community spirit and emphasize that not everyone who calls is after money. But their advertising makes no bones about the benefits of a good tip.
Some coordinators suggest that rising crime rates might be driving up the number of tips. But in Jackson, Tenn., Sgt. Mike Johnson said his call volume had gone from two or three a day to eight or nine. He theorized that rising crime there was nota factor because the program advertises steadily regardless of trends. "People just need money," Johnson said.
Johnson has been a Crime Stoppers coordinator for 15 years, watching crime rates and tips fluctuate. But, he said, "I've never seen an increase like it is now."
Crime Stoppers programs strictly protect the anonymity of callers. Each tip is assigned a number, and if the tip results in an arrest, the caller can collect a cash reward, usually by going to a designated bank. Some programs pay tipsters within hours of an arrest; others have monthly meetings to approve reward amounts.
Not only have the number of tips increased, several program coordinators said, but people are also more diligent about calling back to find out if and when they can collect.
Jim Cogan, director of the Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers program in California, said most of the rewards offered by his program used to go unclaimed. But with large numbers of foreclosures and heavy job losses, Cogan said, "now we're seeing rewards get picked up rightaway and our tipsters being frustrated when tips aren't available as quickly as they need the money."
Karen Keen, the tips coordinator for First Coast Crime Stoppers in Jacksonville, Fla., said she has occasionally been given approval to pay tipsters early, if they convinced her that they needed the money for a light bill or some other necessity.
Some people have made a cottage industry of calling intips. Although repeat callers do not give their names, operators recognize their voices.
"We have people out there that, realistically, this could be their job," said Sgt. Zachary Self, who answers Crime Stoppers calls for the Macon, Ga., Police Department.
"Two or three arrests per week, you could make $700, $750 per week," Self said. "You could make better than a minimumwage job."
Front Section, Pages 10 on 05/18/2008