SPC hears presentation on Crime Stoppers

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on November 23, 2024.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Fifteen per cent of tips to Southern Alberta Crime Stoppers in Lethbridge lead to an arrest and an average of $5,300 in rewards are paid annually.
Those are among the statistics provided in a presentation by Southern Alberta/Lethbridge Crime Stoppers chapter president Kurt Leiblich Thursday to the Social and Safety Standing Policy Committee of Lethbridge city council.
Leiblich also told the SPC the non-profit, volunteer-run organization needs funding of $10,000 for 2025.
The SPC consists of councillors Mark Campbell, Rajko Dodic, Ryan Parker and until he took an unpaid leave of absence from council duties on Wednesday, councillor John Middleton-Hope.
After the presentation, the SPC voted unanimously to receive the report as information and that the request for financial support be referred to city council for consideration and potential funding sources.
The majority of funding for Crime Stoppers comes through casino volunteering endeavours but Leiblich said those opportunities only come up every 2.5 years.
That $10,000 funding being requested has since 2020 come from the Lethbridge Police Service which could afford it because of staffing vacancies which allowed the support through its budget. But LPS chief Shahin Mehdizadeh told the SPC only two vacancies exist now and the department is no longer in a financial position to help Crime Stoppers.
Crime Stoppers is a non-profit charitable organization which is centred on enhancing community safety through collaboration with communities, the media and law enforcement. It has a presence in every province and territory in Canada and it also operates south of the border in the U.S.
The Southern Alberta/Lethbridge chapter is one of four in the province, the others being Calgary, Red Deer and Northern Alberta/Edmonton. It’s supported by a provincial board and three law enforcement co-ordinators from Lethbridge Police Service, RCMP and the Blood Tribe.
The chapter is 100 per cent volunteer run with 11 people on its board.
Information collected leads to arrests and the recovery of drugs and stolen property with rewards of up to $2,000 offered for successful tips.
Founded in 1983, the local chapter has generated 13,048 tips received by LPS, which is an average of 318 per year. In 2024 to date, Lethbridge police have received 303 tips. Crime Stoppers has helped in the seizure of $2.5 million in drugs with an average of $117,000 per year.
Crime Stoppers guarantees anonymity to tipsters whose information will be kept privately. People aren’t asked for their names, addresses, phone numbers or email addresses or for any other information that could identify them.
People who submit tips are given a unique ID number and password that identifies their tip.
Anonymous tips, Leiblich told the SPC, are often a valuable asset.

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