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Local Crime Stoppers Honored with Eight Provincial Awards
Pictured above is Ontario Association of Crime Stoppers (OACS) Alex Williamson (right) presenting one of the eight awards won by Crime Stoppers of Haldimand, Norfolk and Tillsonburg to Don Wilson (left), Cayuga representative for the local program at the 24th annual OACS Training Conference which was held in Windsor, Ontario from June 13 – 15, 2010.
Pictured above is Crime Stoppers’ board member Jason Harnett (left) presenting the 2010 Ontario Association of Crime Stoppers Media Award for “Best Radio Crime of the Week” to CD 98.9 FM’s Michael Badawoy (right). Badawoy serves as the station’s voice of the weekly Crime Stoppers “crime of the week” feature.
June 25, 2010, Simcoe, ON - Crime Stoppers of Haldimand, Norfolk and Tillsonburg was recently honored with not only a top award from the Ontario Association of Crime Stoppers, but with an additional seven provincial awards setting a new record for the local program for the number of provincial accolades received in one year.
During a recent three day Ontario Crime Stoppers Training Conference in Windsor, Crime Stoppers of Haldimand, Norfolk and Tillsonburg was proud to receive a record eight provincial awards including the coveted Marla Moon Memorial Award of Excellence, six media awards and one special project award. This brings the total number of international, provincial and local awards for the local program to 143, since receiving its first award in 1990.
“These awards prove that the program continues to grow and re-enforces the commitment of our key partners – the media, the community and the police,” says Gord Little, Chairperson for Crime Stoppers of Haldimand, Norfolk and Tillsonburg. He continues, “It is because of the combined efforts of all these groups that communities are safer and Crime Stoppers continues to be able to offer an anonymous, reliable way for people to pass information on to investigators with the offer of a cash reward.”
Top honors came to the program in receiving the Marla Moon Memorial Award of Excellence. This award acknowledges overall program excellence and is the highest form of recognition a program can receive provincially. This is the seventh time the local program has been honored with the coveted award (previously awarded for 2008, 2006, 2005, 2004, 1998, 1994 and an honorable mention in 2000). Oxford Crime Stoppers (population under 100,000) and Halton Crime Stoppers (population over 300,001) were also recognized with this coveted award for work done in 2009.
Six awards were also presented to the local program for outstanding coverage by media partners. The following partners were honored accordingly.
- The Moose FM for “Best Radio Special Feature” (Crime Stoppers Minute segment)
- CD 98.9 FM for “Best Radio Crime of the Week”
- The Simcoe Reformer for “Best Print Feature Coverage” (January’s Crime Stoppers Month page)
- The Tillsonburg News for “Best Print Crime of the Week”
- Rogers Television for “Best Television Special Feature” (Inside Oxford)
- CH for “Best Television Crime of the Week”
The program also celebrated a “Special Project Award” in conjunction with The Moose FM for their segment called “Crime Stoppers Minute” which was launched in October 2009. The segment features timely crime prevention tips and plays three times daily, seven days per week.
The awards were presented at the 24th annual Ontario Association of Crime Stoppers annual training conference in Windsor where over 100 delegates from across the province gathered to train and improve their local Crime Stoppers programs. Training sessions included topics about everything from board development, to brand development, to how to utilize social networking to promote local programs. Crime Stoppers International President Gary Murphy was also present to inform delegates as to the latest developments on the international side.
There are currently 38 Crime Stoppers programs in the province of Ontario. As of May 2010, provincial statistics showed that over 124,000 cases had been solved as a result of Crime Stoppers tips and more than 1.7 billion dollars worth of stolen property / narcotics had been recovered / seized throughout the province.
Since the local program’s inception in 1988, Crime Stoppers of Haldimand, Norfolk and Tillsonburg has helped investigators solve more than 3600 cases, has assisted in the seizure of over $37 million worth of narcotics and has assisted in the recovery of more than $5 million worth of stolen property.
Crime Stoppers gives people an anonymous, confidential way of getting information to investigators without ever having to get involved as a witness and cash rewards up to $2000 are paid for information that helps to solve a case. The program’s toll-free 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) line and www.helpsolvecrime.com webtips are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.