January is Crime Stoppers Month in Shelburne

January 22, 2014 · 0 Comments

In an official proclamation, Shelburne’s Mayor Ed Crewson declared the month of January ‘Crime Stoppers Month’ in the town of Shelburne and in keeping with that proclamation, a Crime Stoppers Flag was raised in tribute at Shelburne’s Town Hall and will remain there for the entire month.

The Mayor’s proclamation included many key points noting Crime Stoppers of Simcoe-Dufferin-Muskoka (SDM) is a non-profit charitable organization operated by a volunteer Board of Directors. Receiving absolutely no federal or provincial funding, it’s up to the Board of Directors to organize fund raising events and accept donations from the public and local businesses.

Not a police funded program, Crime Stoppers works very closely with local police departments and assist police solving crimes, reporting incidents to police, and as a result help keep communities safe. Factually, according to Crime Stoppers information, anonymous calls to Crime Stoppers Simcoe-Dufferin-Muskoka (SDM) have resulted in 3,856 arrests, $10 million dollars of recovered stolen property and over $56 million dollars in seized illegal drugs.

The proclamation also stated in 2005, Crime Stoppers became recognised by the United States as global force in the fight against crime and terrorism and Mayor Crewson urges the public to call Crime Stoppers province wide toll free number with any information about a crime that has occurred or is about to occur and reminds that any anonymous caller providing information that solves or prevents a crime is eligible for a cash reward.

During the flag raising ceremony held at City Hall, Chair for Dufferin Committee Crime Stoppers, Colleen Sheppard and Joanne Gilewski, Dufferin Representative on the Board of Directors (SDM) Crime Stoppers are looking for volunteers to sit on the board and specifically, Police Co-ordinator for Crime Stoppers (SDM) Chris Lewis mentioned the need for volunteers from Mansfield, Shelburne, Grand Valley, Mono and all local municipalities from local Dufferin areas.

Noting the importance of Crime Stoppers, Sergeant Kerr of the Shelburne Police Department had this to say, “One of the biggest problems we face as the Police force in Shelburne is trying to convince people to call right away when a situation arises. Often people worry if the situation is serious enough to call us, or they wait for a couple days. If you see someone driving into driveway after driveway at night for example, and it is seems suspicious, call us so we can help right away,” continuing with an update, “Also, crime has gone down with our summer program, ‘Lock it or Loose it’ and people really became aware of the need to lock their car.”

Working together to help keep the public safe, the collaborative effort by volunteers is commendable.

For more information regarding Crime Stoppers call Colleen Sheppard, Chair of Crime Stoppers, Dufferin at 519-942-3981, email crimestoppersofdufferin@gmail.com visit www.canadiancrimestoppers.org or call the toll free number 1-800-222-8477.

By Alex Sher

Photo by Alex Sher
(L to R) Shelburne’s Mayor Ed Crewson Proclaims January to be Crime Stoppers Month. Chair for Crime Stoppers Dufferin-Simcoe-Muskoka (SDM)Colleen Sheppard, Mayor Ed Crewson, Sergeant David Kerr of the Shelburne Police Department, Police Co-ordinator for Crime Stoppers (SDM) Chris Lewis, OPP Provincial Co-ordinator for Crime Stoppers(SDM) Monica Harris, and Joanne Gilewski, Dufferin Representative on the Board of Directors (SDM)were in attendance at the official Crime Stoppers Flag raising ceremony at Shelburne’s Town Hall.