Crime Stoppers Blog | News & Events

Crime Stoppers adds new technology to entice more tipsters to come forward

For 26 years, N.B. Crime Stoppers has given New Brunswickers an opportunity to provide information about crimes both anonymously and securely through their toll-free hotline at 1-800-222-8477, but as cell phones and the internet become the communication tools of choice these days, the charitable organization felt it was time to expand the ways it collects these tips – many of which assist law enforcement in the province solve crucial, time-dependent cases.

The volunteer-run group is launching their ‘Talk, Type, Text Anonymously’ campaign, which incorporates a guaranteed system to protect the identity of the tipster – which is of the utmost importance to the Crime Stoppers program. Civilian operators at the Fredericton-based office receive tips, which are then forwarded to law enforcement agencies for review, including those at Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

And the program has proven successful – since 1985, tips from the public have helped recover $7.5 million in stolen property; seize over $58.5 million in drugs and controlled substances; and lead to the arrests of over 8,200 individuals in the province. The organization has helped solve some of New Brunswick’s most high-profile cases over the years, but you won’t hear them bragging about it. In fact, Crime Stoppers and their law enforcement partners will never reveal what cases involved tips to Crime Stoppers, in fear that it may allude to the tipster’s identity, and go against their pursuit in guaranteeing anonymity.

So how does Crime Stoppers guarantee that calls remain anonymous? When a tipster calls 1-800-222-8477, they are first given a code number and prompted not to disclose their identity at any time. The tipster then uses that same code number for all subsequent communication with Crime Stoppers. The program does not subscribe to call display anywhere in North America and the identity of the caller is never known. In the Crime Stoppers file that is created, the caller is referred to as "the tipster" and not "he or she" which would then disclose the gender of the tipster to the law enforcement investigator.

Through this method of screening and sanitizing the tip information, the caller can never, even accidentally, be recognized or identified by the content of the tip information. The tipster remains, in terms of identity, only a number. All information is computerized, securely protected by passwords, and held in a highly-secure area, accessible only to top-level Crime Stoppers personnel.

Tips received through the secure form at the Crime Stoppers website, http://www.nb.crimestoppers.ca, are handled in a similar manner. Whereas the tip is first routed to a highly-secure server where the information is encrypted and the tipster is given a confidential code number in the event they wish to update information or contact Crime Stoppers directly without giving their name. The web form also enables the tipster to attach a photo, which can be particularly useful for law enforcement during stages of investigation.

With half of all phone connections now wireless in the country, Crime Stoppers wanted to make sure they were ahead of the game when it came to receiving tips over mobile devices. Tipsters can contact Crime Stoppers using their cell phones either by calling the traditional toll-free number or through easy to remember numbers initiated by Canada’s largest cell providers. Bell and Telus clients are able to dial *TIPS (*8477), and Rogers customers can dial #TIPS (#8477) to reach the office, which handles calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year round.

Crime Stoppers believes these new technologies will entice more people to come forward, especially tech-savvy youth. However, the organization first needed a method to receive tips through text messaging, while still protecting the cell user’s identity.

“Originally, the problem regarding text messaging for Crime Stoppers was that we could see the cell number when the message was received, making it no longer anonymous,” explains Mark LeBelle, Director of Digital Media Services for Crime Stoppers. “We needed to find a way to extract the tipster’s information delivered to our office, while blocking the cell number”

With the help from leading Canadian information security expert Eric Jacksch, who has a background in criminology, corrections and social services, as well as Texas-based Anderson Software, Crime Stoppers was able to live up to the challenge. All text messages sent to common short code 274637 (or CRIMES) are routed to a secure server located in Ottawa, which assigns the cell user an alias. The message is then encrypted a second time and forwarded to a server in Texas before making its way back to operators in Fredericton. An application built into Crime Stoppers’ software program allows them to respond back to the Tipster directly on their cell phone in real-time and almost instantly. Replies go through the same process only in reverse, enabling operators to see an alias rather than a phone number.

All Crime Stoppers programs were assigned a short code – New Brunswick’s is TIP212. When this short code is included in the tipster’s text message, the system automatically knows to filter this tip to N.B. Crime Stoppers in Fredericton. Ultimately, tipsters would text ‘TIP212 plus their message’ to CRIMES (274637) in order to give their information anonymously and securely. While this service has no premium fee, standard text messaging rates apply. Crime Stoppers encourage anyone with information regarding criminal activity to do the right thing and Call, Click or Text them anonymously.

“On behalf of Canada’s wireless industry, I congratulate N.B. Crime Stoppers on their implementation of this innovative text messaging application as part of their ongoing efforts to keep New Brunswickers safe,” said Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) President and CEO, Bernard Lord. “The instant and interactive nature of text messaging is sure to be a valuable asset for law enforcement, especially in situations where timing is critical.”