Tim Collins / News staff
Revelstoke Crime Stoppers is an important volunteer-operated program that helps to keep the community safe. It could be what makes the difference between bringing someone who has violated your person or property ot that of your neighbour to justice or having the perpetrators escape arrest and punishment.
Given that, it would only stand to reason, said Crime Stoppers president,Teresa LeRose, that people would be willing to volunteer their time to make sure the program survives, but that is not the case, nor has it been for years.
Currently, the entire program depends on the selfless work of four volunteers, and the organization desperately needs more people to step forward if Crime Stoppers is to continue.
“I think part of the problem is that people just don’t understand what we do,” observed past president, Roberta Ciolli.
“We’re primarily involved in a few fund raising initiatives to raise the money to fund our operations and for the rewards that are paid for tips leading to arrests. We never come into contact with the people providing information and certainly not with the criminals themselves. We’re also not directly affiliated with the RCMP; we’re just an information resource to them.”
Ciolli emphasized that the last point is very important.
“We’re not doing this for the RCMP or any police force. We do it for the community–our friends, family, neighbours. It’s their security that drives us.”
Beyond the lack of understanding about what Crime Stopper volunteers actually do, there may be another, more human, reason for the difficulty in attracting volunteers.
“People volunteer for a lot of reasons, and often it’s because of family involvement (getting involved in sports because a child is playing, for example). Other times it’s because it makes you feel good, basking in the glow of a good cause and having people know about what you’re doing,” said Ciolli.
That’s a problem for Crime Stoppers whose executive members take an “oath of secrecy” that prevents them from talking about any specific outcomes of their program. It means that, unless the volunteer time is motivated by a belief in the good the program does, with no expectation of recognition for the time spent, it’s unlikely a person will volunteer.
A final problem may be the belief that some people may hold that a reward program for providing information on crimes runs counter to good citizenship.
Some people may think that a reward shouldn’t be necessary. If you know about a crime, call the police,” said Ciolli.
“But the fact is that a lot of the rewards go unclaimed. People use the program because its a way of telling what they know anonymously and without fear of retribution from the criminal or the fear of getting involved in a police investigation or court proceeding. Crime stoppers is totally confidential and you can report crime without anyone knowing you made the call….ever.”
To offer your help to Crime Stoppers or learn more about the program, go to revelstokecrimestoppers.ca.
