THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 13, 1996 TAG: 9604130007
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
Want to make life tougher for lawbreakers? Throw some dollars to Greater Hampton Roads Crime Lines.
Tune into the 12th Annual Greater Hampton Roads Crime Line Telethon (WVEC-TV, Channel 13) between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. today to learn from some crime victims how grateful they are to the cash-for-anonymous-tips arrangement that enables police to (1) arrest more criminals more swiftly than they otherwise might, (2) find and seize forbidden drugs and (3) reclaim stolen property.
Since the founding of the first Hampton Roads Crime Line in the 1980s, anonymous tips for cash have helped police solve more than 22,000 crimes and recover stolen property and seize banned drugs valued at $27.5 million.
A tipster is paid up to $1,000 for information that produces an arrest or arrests. The informant remains anonymous and need not testify in court. The region's Crime Lines have paid out more than $1.3 million over the years, but as you can see from the above, the return on investment is high. Between 97 percent and 98 percent of arrests result in convictions.
Days after Parade Magazine described the successes of Crime Lines elsewhere in the United States, The Virginian-Pilot editorial page urged area localities to follow suit. Tonight's Crime Line Telethon hopes to raise at least $100,000 to keep Hampton Roads' Crime Lines ringing.
Be a crime fighter. You can contribute to the Crime Lines even if you miss the telethon. For little pain but much gain, send a donation to Greater Hampton Roads Crime Line Telethon, P.O. Box 662, Portsmouth, Va. 23705. It's a sure bet. by CNB