June 27, 2007

Crime Solvers Unveils a New Crime Fighting Tool with the Help of a Local Business

With the help of a local business, Fairfax County Crime Solvers has hit the streets advertising its anonymous tip line. Drivers in the Metropolitan region will now see the regional tip line telephone number on a rolling billboard as they make their commute every day. GoMobile Alliance has provided the space on their mobile advertising trucks as a way to give back to the community. The large, bright yellow advertisements are hard to miss as they roll down the highway with “Sherlock” and the tip line number prominently displayed on these new, state of the art vehicles.

Fairfax County Crime Solvers works closely with other Crime Solvers programs in the region to promote a regional tip line. Crime Solvers programs are non-profit organizations operated by business leaders and citizens. They provide an anonymous tip line for the public to report information on crimes that occur in their jurisdiction. Crime Solvers provides that information to their respective police or sheriff’s departments for investigation. If that information leads to arrests, case closures or the recovery of stolen property or narcotics, the anonymous tipster is then eligible for a cash reward of $100 to $1,000. Crime Solvers programs are able to pay those tipsters because of the generous donations received from both businesses and citizens alike. Without those donations, the programs could not function. Crime Solvers is not funded or operated by law enforcement.

Information provided by tipsters has made an impact on case closures around the region. For example, in Fairfax County last year, information received through the tip line closed 16 bank robberies, 10 of which occurred in Fairfax County. Most recently, a tipster’s information led to the arrest of another serial bank robber in May. He was responsible for two bank robberies in Fairfax County in 2006 as well as possibly 11 others around the region.