Hotline catches 200 criminals

More than 200 criminals have been brought to justice in the past year thanks to tipoffs from the public through a condifential police hotline in the Worcestershire force area.

More than £1.8 million of property has also been recovered since the launch of the line which covers the Kidderminster and Wyre Forest area.

Last year £213,343 worth of property was recovered and £74,222 worth of drugs seized. Latest figures show that of the thousands of calls received on the 0800 555 111 hotline last year, a total of 1,616 calls were to police for action.

Many provided vital leads which have enabled officers to track down culprits.

As a result police last year arrested and charged 206 people for a variety of offences including robbery, burglary, theft, vehicle crime and drugs.

he past year also saw West Mercia Crimestoppers break the 3,000 barrier for the number of arrests and charges brought since it was formed in 1994 – with a total of 3,044.

The figures mean that, across the West Mercia region, an arrest and charge is made for every 7.8 calls received. Officers claim this proves the effectiveness of Crimestoppers in the fight against crime.

Jenny Wynn, chairman of the board of Crimestoppers West Mercia, said: "The past year has undoubtedly been a successful one, with more and more people choosing to pick up the telephone and pass on information about crime."

"The challenge is to get even more people to do the same this year so that many more criminals can be brought to justice.

"People feel much more at ease talking to Crimestoppers because they know that it really is completely anonymous.

"Criminals rely on others saying nothing, but Crimestoppers offers the chance to tackle crime without people getting directly involved.

"People can provide information by simply picking up the phone and no-one will ever know who made the call."

"Often information will be used to help solve existing investigations but on other occasions it could provide completely new leads for police, enabling them to tackle crimes of which they would otherwise be unaware."