Halifax County Crimestoppers is coming home.
Started in 1998 by former Roanoke Rapids Police Department Detective Ralph Johnson, the anonymous crime tip line has been administered by several departments since then.
It is now back in Roanoke Rapids, Major Tommy Hathaway said, and Detective John Taylor is the new administrator.
“Through Ralph’s efforts, he was able to start a beneficial program for the community and law enforcement,” Hathaway said today. “It’s been shared by the city, county and the Enfield Police Department. It was passed to us to bring it back to the city.”
(The next Crimestoppers board meeting is February 19 at 7 p.m. at South Rosemary Baptist Church located at 1837 Roanoke Avenue. For more information on Crimestoppers or to request information on being a member or giving a donation call Taylor at 252-533-2822)
Crimestoppers has proven effective. “It’s solved everything from check writing to homicides, a broad spectrum,” Hathaway said. “A string of bank robberies were solved and prosecuted by the feds.”
The Crimestoppers board, which controls the purse strings and decides on how much to give callers whose information leads to arrests and convictions, decided to bring it back to Roanoke Rapids.
With the city now administering it, there will be a push to promote it more, said Hathaway. “John is really enthusiastic and is speaking to civic groups. He wants to step up fundraising. The rewards are paid through donations.”
The immediate need, Taylor said, is to recruit new members and officers. “Once we have new members and officers we need to establish the same infrastructure within the organization so it can function as it once did.”
The long-term goals, he said, are to work to bring back the most wanted list and do outreach through different fundraising and perhaps bring back scholarships. He also wants to see the program honor citizens and law enforcement for going above the call of duty to ensure the safety of citizens as Crimestoppers once did.
Crimestoppers remains relevant, Taylor said, because it bridges a gap between those who readily call law enforcement and those who don’t. “It gives people the ability to come forward and do what’s right when they might not otherwise do so.”
The callers’ identities are not known and phone calls are not traced. They are assigned a number that remains with them throughout the case. Police are not involved in the issuance of a reward. Taylor’s job as administrator is to simply give the information to the proper law enforcement agency.
Taylor has seen several instances where information given to Crimestoppers would have helped police. “We had a series of a dozen or so break-ins at Rivers Edge (mobile home park) where everyone knew who it was but wouldn’t talk to law enforcement because they might be labeled a snitch, become a target or didn’t want to be involved in the court system.”
Calling Crimestoppers — 252-583-4444 — eliminates that fear and solid information can lead to arrests and possible monetary rewards. “Good information is solid information,” Taylor said, explaining that means facts of the crime, a suspect’s car, specific weapon used or description of a house. “Bad information is Jack did it, but saying Jack did it using a .45 handgun and bags of cash can be found in a dumpster behind Winn-Dixie is good information.”
