Crime Stoppers further connects with communities in regional South Australia, such as Port Lincoln, encouraging locals to contact them to provide anonymous information to help fight crime.
Crime Stoppers Executive Director Nigel Smart visited Port Lincoln on Tuesday March 15 as part of a statewide campaign to inform people of the National Gun Amnesty fire.
Starting on Adelaide Place outside the Port Lincoln Post Office, they then traveled to Whait Reserve as part of the Port Lincoln City Council public event.
Mr Smart said Crime Stoppers were working with SAPOL to inform communities about the amnesty, encouraging people to turn in their unregistered guns to the nearest police station without any consequences.
He said that across the country there were around 260,000 unregistered firearms in people’s homes and the problem was that when these guns were stolen they could then end up on the black market.
“This is an initiative by the Federal Government across Australia to let people know that they can turn them in at any police station across Australia,” he said. he declares.
During the visit, Mr. Smart encouraged Crime Stoppers to work closely with regional communities like Port Lincoln to address local issues and encourage people to report information to the police.
Over the past two months, Crime Stoppers has reached out to communities such as Roxby Downs, Murray Bridge, Port Augusta and Port Pirie to spread this message, moving to Whyalla after Port Lincoln.
Mr Smart said that over the past 25 years, Crime Stoppers have solved around 35,000 crimes, providing a platform for people to report information anonymously.
He said Crime Stoppers would work with local police and the Port Lincoln City Council to help resolve issues specific to the area.
“Some people don’t want to be in court, to be witnesses or to have an association with elements of the crime,” he said.
“Crime Stoppers is this platform where people can report and say what they know without saying who they are.
“It supports the community because the police can acquire different levels of intelligence that leads to a safer community.”
Sergeant Di Baker-Tagg of Eyre and Western Crime Prevention said local SAPOL is joining Crime Stoppers in inviting the Port Lincoln community to use the platform to report a crime anonymously.
“We work together with Crime Stoppers to increase community safety and Crime Stoppers is that channel between the community and SAPOL to receive information about illegal activities,” she said.
