LIHU‘E — The Crime-stoppers program can be a valuable tool for the Kaua’i Police Department to solicit leads during investigations. While most people are familiar with the Crimestoppers name, many may not fully understand what the program is and how
LIHU‘E — The Crime-stoppers program can be a valuable tool for the Kaua’i Police Department to solicit leads during investigations.
While most people are familiar with the Crimestoppers name, many may not fully understand what the program is and how it works, a county press release said.
Kaua’i Crimestoppers is a program created by the Kaua’i Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with KPD, to support law enforcement officers in deterring criminal acts and apprehending persons who commit such crimes.
The program provides an incentive opportunity, with monetary rewards of up to $1,000, for anyone to divulge information which could lead to arrest and conviction.
“Because KPD often advertises this service to the public, we wanted to make sure the public was well informed about the organization and what they do,” KPD Chief Darryl Perry said.
“We also wanted to recognize the hard work and dedication of community volunteers who make this service possible.”
Members of the public donate reward money. Perry said often times the police department struggles with a lack of resources and volunteers do a service by helping the department solve crimes on the island.
Anyone with information on an open criminal investigation may call the Crimestoppers at 241-1887. Callers are then directed to a coordinator from the police department.
Callers may remain anonymous and phone numbers are untraceable. Crimestoppers issues callers a tracking tip number to help identify the tipster and incidents.
When calling Crimestoppers, the police coordinator will need for the following information: the type of illegal activity, location of activity, date and time of incident, description of suspect and/or the suspect’s vehicle.
The caller is advised to call back to check the status of the tip that was given. If the information received from the caller was valid and an arrest was made, the caller may then be eligible to receive a reward.
“Witnesses are critical to solving cases,” added Captain Michael Contrades of the Patrol Service Bureau. “There is information we would never be privy to without a good Samaritan calling it in — even anonymously — through Crimestoppers. It’s an invaluable tool in fighting crime.”
“As a business and community member advocate, we recognize in this economic downturn that it’s even more important that we continue to step forward and partner with the county, community and private sector to prevent crime and solve those that do occur,” Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce President Randy Francisco said. “We also want to demonstrate through the Crimestoppers program that this community cares and provide closure for victims whenever possible.”
“To have our business community step up in this way to support the Kaua’i Police Department is phenomenal,” Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said.
