The newly-issued statistics equate to 2,027 more people being arrested and charged, in turn highlighting a year-on-year increase and demonstrating that the quality of information received from the public – alongside that generated by the charity’s dedicated 24/7 contact bureau – is helping to achieve consistently high results.
Crimestoppers’ latest end of year figures highlight a 10% increase in the number of people arrested and charged as a result of information passed on to the organisation between April 2010 and March of this year.
This represents a ‘personal best’ for the charity, along with the fact that it has achieved its highest ever amount of actionable information received.
The figures certainly are impressive: 8,264 criminals have been arrested and charged… 90,868 actionable calls (ie those providing useful information) have been taken… GB pound 3,155,704 worth of stolen goods have been recovered… GB pound 25,339,693 worth of illegal drugs have been seized.
Number of people arrested and charged by crime type
- rape/sexual offences: 86
- assault/harassment: 265
- possession of weapons: 158
- other violent crimes: 36
- terrorism: 2
- robbery: 151
- criminal damage: 99
- arson: 41
- drug manufacturing: 739
- theft: 474
- handling stolen goods: 80
- vehicle crime: 77
- burglary: 159
- fraud and forgery: 50
- murder: 50
- drink driving: 402
- other road traffic crime: 308
- immigration offences: 63
- human trafficking: 29
- Customs & Excise crimes: 20
- public order offences: 82
- wanted individuals/fugitives from justice: 283
- other crimes: 386
- possession and other drug-related crimes: 931
- drug trafficking/supply: 3,017
Since Crimestoppers started taking anonymous calls in 1988, the organisation has received more than 1.2 million calls with useful information which have led to: 107,000 people being arrested and charged with offences including murder, rape, drug dealing, burglary, robbery and theft (over 800 people alone being charged with murder) and GB pound 115 million of stolen property being recovered.
Quality of information “consistently high”
Speaking about the latest annual figures, Crimestoppers’ deputy chief executive Dave Cording commented: “To achieve a 32% increase in the number of people arrested and charged is a fantastic result. These statistics show that the quality of information we’ve received and processed at our dedicated call bureau has been consistently high as many more individuals have been arrested and charged due to the information received.”
He continued: “The figures also show that 23 people are arrested and charged every day as a result of Crimestoppers’ information, while one person every seven days is charged with murder as a result of information passed to the charity.”
In conclusion, Cording said: “A huge Thank You must go to the members of the public who have passed on information to us. We’re extremely proud that Crimestoppers continues to play such a vital role in helping to make communities across the UK safer places in which to live and work. I’d like to reassure members of the public that our service is completely anonymous: in the 23 years that the charity has been running no-one has ever been identified.”
Crimestoppers and Openreach join forces to tackle cable theft
Openreach is the latest partner to join forces with Crimestoppers in a bid to tackle cable theft, having announced the launch of a new regional campaign in ‘hot spot’ theft areas.
Cable theft is a crime that can affect any street, with opportunist criminals stealing copper cables that are used to provide essential phone, TV and broadband services to millions of homes throughout the UK.
In reality, just one theft can mean hundreds of houses are left without connection – in turn causing widespread disruption to communication channels.
The new campaign involves a dedicated website (at: www.openreach.co.uk/cableprotection), boards on Openreach vans and leaflets distributed directly to the public highlighting the disruption cable theft causes (at the same time urging members of the public to pass on information about cable thieves to Crimestoppers anonymously).
Crime that causes significant disruption
David Cording explained: “Cable theft has far reaching consequences: just one cable being stolen could mean an entire community is left for hours without services that we use daily, such as telephones and the Internet. This crime can cause significant disruption to our time at home and at work, which can be incredibly frustrating.”
For Cording, the fact that criminals are the cause of this disruption is all the more infuriating.
“We hope that by working with Openreach to raise awareness among service users around cable theft,” he said, “it will enable the public to be more conscious about passing on information concerning those committing this type of crime. Thieves themselves should beware, as well. They could be endangering their own life in committing cable theft by risking electrocution.”
Importantly, Cording concluded: “If you have any information about those committing cable theft, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or fill in our anonymous online information giving form. We don’t take any of your personal details so no-one will know who you are.”
Bernie Auguste, head of security for Openreach, stated: “The service we provide to our customers is our number one priority as a business. We are committed to do everything in our power, working with Crimestoppers and our other industry partners, to crack down on metal theft and prevent criminal damage to our network.”
Auguste added: “The support of the public in this is paramount. We would appeal to anyone who sees suspect activity in or around our network, or has knowledge of the people committing this crime, to report it immediately.”
Further information is available on the Crimestoppers website (a dedicated link can be found at the foot of this page)
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