Crime Stoppers Named Most Successful Program Of Its Kind

Darren Brown, News9.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma City's Crime Stopper program was just named the most successful program of its kind in America.

The program started in July of 1979 and has evolved over the last three decades, but the phone number of 405-235-7300 has never changed.

But as times changed, technology changed, and Crime Stoppers coordinator Charlie Phillips recognized that the way crime tips were gathered needed to change as well. A new website was developed, one that offered e-mail and texting options for tipsters.

"Today, we are averaging monthly about a 500 or 600 percent increase in the number of solved tips, as opposed to what we were about five years ago," Phillips said.

One of Crime Stoppers' most recent high-profile cases involved the Oklahoma City Police Department's helicopter. The helicopter took a bullet last June, but all leads had dried up.

"The case was as cold as a case can be. Well, two months after the fact, Crime Stoppers received a call. I took the call here in the office, and we had an individual that gave us all of the information. This is the suspect's name, this is where he lives. He still has the gun. He has video on his cell phone regarding the shooting," Phillips said.

That man was arrested and charged within hours.

Stopping crime doesn't always happen that easily, but Phillips said he's never really surprised at the tips he receives. The motivations vary.

"It may be that they're scared of this individual, and this is just now the time that they really feel safe. Ex-boyfriends, ex-girlfriends, ex-husbands, ex-wives. They knew about the crime but now are going through a situation or trying to exact a little revenge. They may have fallen on hard times because of their financial situation, and now are willing to step forward for the sake of potentially getting a reward," Phillips said. "And in some cases, it's just something has taken place and they've just found out about it long after the fact."

Whatever the motivation, the tips just keep coming in, and they keep putting criminals away.

"Ultimately, that is the bottom line as to why we do what we do," said Phillips said.