At a news conference held today, Crime Stoppers of Hamilton-Wentworth, McMaster University and Mohawk College announced a joint initiative to help make campus communities safer.

“Crime Stoppers is excited to be able to expand the awareness of our community Crime Stoppers program to the campuses. In total there are approximately 75,000 faculty, staff and full and part-time students between the campuses; so, in effect these are small communities of their own. We are happy to be able to help address their needs, expand our horizons and deliver the Crime Stoppers message and its benefits to more people,” said Crime Stoppers chair Rose Stricker.

“McMaster University is delighted to promote Crime Stoppers on our campus. We believe Crime Stoppers provides our community with a pro-active program for people to anonymously assist in solving crime, contributing to an improved quality of life here at McMaster. The joint effort between Crime Stoppers, Mohawk and McMaster will enhance the safety and security on our campus,” said director of security services, Ron Thorn.

“A few years ago, Crime Stoppers was introduced into several high schools in Hamilton-Wentworth with meaningful results. We look forward to the opportunity to expand the program to Mohawk College,” said John Guilfoyle, director of Mohawk College services division. “Students want the security of knowing their environment is safe and we're pleased to enhance that assurance through our participation with Crime Stoppers.”

Crime Stoppers will be promoted through student displays, student events, internal campus publications, on campus electronic communication tools, posters, billboards and various hand-outs. It should be emphasized that all “tipsters” will still call the community tip hot-line at 522-8477(TIPS).

Crime Stoppers is a non-profit community program relying on the co-operation between police, news media and citizens of the Region. Crime Stoppers encourages people to call with information to solve serious crimes already committed, those about to occur and /or the whereabouts of wanted persons.

Crime Stoppers offers you a method to pass your information on to police and you never have to reveal your identity. If your information leads to a positive outcome, you will be eligible for a cash reward. The rewards run from $50-$1,000 depending upon your information.