This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 2, 2013 - "Crime doesn’t pay, but CrimeStoppers does.”
The public service ad for the local crime hotline stresses the anonymity afforded tipsters more than the cash rewards paid out, and so does Lisa Pisciotta, the St. Louis police officer who oversees the program. Fewer than half of tipsters usually collect their rewards but are driven instead by a desire to identify criminals without fear of reprisal, she says.
For information on St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers, visit the website or Facebook page. Hotline: 866-371-8477
"They’re calling to make their neighborhood or their friends and family safer. St. Louis is one of those little big towns and everybody knows everyone. They like to help each other. They can help somebody down the street or across the way and they don’t need to get anything from it. Their community will benefit,’’ she said.
Since it was formed in 2006, the St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers program has approved more than 250 rewards for tips leading to the arrests of suspects charged with felony crimes. Less than half of those have been claimed, she said. The rewards -- up to $1,000 -- are funded by donations from area residents, businesses and corporations.
Pisciotta, who fields the tips in her office at the St. Louis County Police Department in Clayton, stressed the fact that tipsters never identify themselves by name. They are given code numbers used to access their files. Tipsters also provide no contact information and must check back to see if they are eligible for rewards. There is no caller ID on CrimeStoppers phones, and the website provides directions for anonymous texting or filling out anonymous web forms.
The cloak-and-dagger safeguards used to protect tipsters are serious business; Pisciotta will not even not divulge how rewards are paid.
The number of tips fielded in a day varies but will rise when there is a high-profile crime, she said. Peak times are between 7 and 9 in the morning; noon; 5 and 6 p.m.; and 9 to 10 p.m.
"People are watching the news,’’ Pisciotta said.
The CrimeStoppers website is a stark summary of police reports of area crimes, many illustrated with pictures taken from security cameras.
"CAN YOU ID THIS ROBBER?” asks the headline on an item about the afternoon robbery at the U.S. Bank branch at South County Mall on Dec. 3. The pictured suspect, believed to be a man dressed as a woman, was last seen walking north near the International House of Pancakes restaurant.
One section is devoted to mug shots of the area’s “most wanted,” while another is illustrated with family photos of homicide victims.
"HELP SOLVE THE HOMICIDE OF THIS 14 YR OLD GIRL” urges an item, prominently displayed under the section "Breaking News.” It details the shooting of 14-year-old Corniesha Smith who was shot at 10:06 p.m. on June 10 as she was walking in the 3900 block of Dunnica.
Pisciotta, who acknowledges that the job requires her to keep her "thick skin on,” keeps a clipboard of flyers posted on the website seeking information about unsolved homicide cases. Some mention the ongoing efforts of family members to keep the word out about their loved ones, in hopes of spurring tips.
"We are a catalyst to get the information out to the media,’’ Pisciotta said. "Hopefully by doing interviews and getting information out, somebody’s going to know something.’’
An earlier version of CrimeStoppers existed in St. Louis in the 1980s but faded due to a lack of funding, Pisciotta said. The program was revived by former U.S. attorneys Jim Martin and Ed Dowd, with a staffer provided by St. Louis city police and office space by St. Louis County police.
"There was a gap between the information the police were getting and the information known by the neighbors. There was that fear of reprisal -- of being pointed out. Some people don’t like the police coming to their door,’’ Pisciotta said.
CrimeStoppers, which started in Albuquerque, N.M., in 1976, is an international operation, with more than 1,000 programs operating as local nonprofits. The St. Louis effort was modeled after the Kansas City program that is celebrating its 30th anniversary and just announced its 600th homicide arrest.
According to statistics on the website, the St. Louis tip line has led to 360 arrests and cleared 490 cases. The value of property recovered and drugs seized is estimated at $14 million.
What do you want people to know about CrimeStoppers?
Pisciotta: CrimeStoppers is trustworthy, and we are completely anonymous. Your information goes directly to the police department that it needs to go to [in order] to make a difference and be useful in a criminal arrest. The CrimeStoppers organization is over 35 years old. It’s worldwide. It’s been completely anonymous since Day 1 and will continue to be anonymous. We have no caller ID. No tags on the texting lines. No phone numbers written down. We take no information from you.
Who are your callers?
Pisciotta: This service is for that group of people in the community who are worried about reprisals. They don’t want to be found out: Who called the police. The money is a bit of a nudge to call, as well, but we find that most of it is because people don’t want the bad guys to know that they called the police.
We get about 30 to 40 percent participation in reward pickups. Some people -- maybe they forget. They don’t call back. We tell them if you want to check to see if you’re eligible for a reward you need to call back and check on your tip. Of approved rewards of $92,000, we’ve paid out rewards of $48,000.
There are some states that have 100 percent participation when it comes to rewards. People pick up all the rewards.
We also spend probably 40 percent of our time redirecting calls that aren’t really for CrimeStoppers. People feel comfortable calling us. And asking all kinds of questions because they know it is anonymous. If they need victim’s services, we give them phone numbers. Some people might just be looking to find out why their trash dumpster isn’t upright, so we send them to the city services bureau. At least they’re comfortable calling us.
The items posted on your website make it clear that crime knows no geographic limits. The number of robberies of bank branches at grocery stores in Illinois and Missouri is an eye-opener.
Pisciotta: No area is without crime any more. It is happening in your neighborhood.
If you’re in a business and you know somebody’s stealing and you don’t want to go to your boss, send it to CrimeStoppers, and I’ll send it to the local white-collar crime information.
[CrimeStoppers has] an initiative for human trafficking. It’s one of the hardest crimes to solve. But if you’re a busboy or a waitress and see something’s not right -- you find out someone’s been brought to work at this restaurant and is sleeping in the back room. It’s very hard to police that kind of thing, and they need witnesses and information and clues to get the ball rolling.
According to your program statistics, tips have led to 376 arrests, as of this writing. So, it would appear that people are responding to your program.
Pisciotta: Law enforcement runs on witnesses. I’m a police officer and I’m the first person to say if you can be a witness you need to call the police. But if you’re afraid to be a witness, by all means call CrimeStoppers.
The biggest weapon any police officer has is witnesses, whether they come in the form of anonymous tips through us or they call the police. Or they’re at the scene and want to be witnesses. There are not enough law enforcement officers to be out there witnessing crime. Most of our job is to react to crime, and we’re not standing there. You’re standing there.
The more CrimeStoppers is out there and the more media that cover us, the more tips we get and the more calls we get. The calls are steadily increasing over the years, which is a great sign for us. I think people are starting to feel like CrimeStoppers is the respected organization that we tell them it is, and that they can trust us.
Your website is filled with pictures of suspects. How has the prevalence of cameras changed the dynamics of crime fighting?
Pisciotta: With all these eyes out there looking at you, you’d think people would think twice before they did something. There are more cameras out there now. Every phone has a camera. There are always two people in a car driving down the street. How can criminals think they’re going to get away with it?
Since 9/11 and the YouTube era, you can’t be anonymous on the street. You’re held accountable to act and be a true and upstanding citizen. There’s no way that somebody’s not going to catch you.
If I had one thing to tell businesses and restaurants and banks -- if you’re going to spend money on security, get the best camera you can. Get the best video you can. Keep it digitally and point it in the right directions. Get a police officer or security expert in there to tell you where it should be. Spend the money up front and the first guy who does it will be the last guy who does it.
