Police have made 126 arrests – seized 181 illegal weapons so far this year alone – all from anonymous gang activity tips to Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers
“You’ll never be asked to give your name, we don’t trace calls or IP addresses. You’ll never be called back by police, and never have to go to court”
THE latest statistics from Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers show its “World without Gangs” and illegal guns-reporting campaigns which began in 2015 are resulting in many more people breaking the “code of silence” about reporting gang crime.
“Inspiring the public to get engaged, and giving them something they can actually do about the gang crime they see around them has resulted in a rising tide of tips to us about gang activity,” said Linda Annis, Executive Director of Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers (MVCS), who is attending the policing session at UBCM, on Monday.
“We aren’t the police, but the sustained increase in anonymous tips we’ve seen since the Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers anti-gang tips campaign began is definitely providing the authorities with actionable information they can use. It’s led to hundreds of arrests, and millions of dollars worth of property and guns seized – proof positive that we’re able to provide a valuable piece of the puzzle for the police.”
In the first eight months of 2018 alone, there have been 1,477 tips to Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers related to known gang crimes, or to other crimes believed to be the result of gang activity. That’s led to 170 charges being laid so far. This doesn’t include additional crimes that also remain under active investigation based on tips MVCS has received.
As many as 1,228 tips so far this year were related to illegal guns, and 181 illegal weapons have been seized.
There have already been 126 arrests from January to August this year relating to tips on gang or illegal gun activity, which is on track to meet or exceed the 169 arrests recorded in all of 2017 (which was a 125 per cent increase over 2016).
Since January 2017, almost $11 million in property including illicit drugs and property have been recovered.
Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers covers an area populated by 2.8 million people between Boston Bar and Powell River.
“Again, we want everyone to understand that your total anonymity is guaranteed by the Supreme Court of Canada when you call Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers with information,” noted Annis. “You’ll never be asked to give your name, we don’t trace calls or IP addresses. You’ll never be called back by police, and never have to go to court.”
Reporting to Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers
Anyone can leave an anonymous tips in a variety of ways including:
- The new MVCS tips reporting app for smartphones. It’s available from the App Store or from the Play Store by searching “P3”
- Calling MVCS at 1-800-222-8477
- Leaving a tip online at solvecrime.ca
- Following the link on the Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers Facebook page
Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers accepts tips in 115 different languages. All tips from the public are passed on to authorities to investigate. MVCS is not the police and doesn’t record phone calls, log IP addresses and won’t use your name. Tipsters are provided with a code number and if their information results in a charge, a reward of up to $2,000 may be offered.
