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Crime Stoppers on Campus

Crime Stoppers USVI directs this two-part public service announcement to students, parents, school administrators and the community to help promote safer school environments. Crime Stoppers wishes to show that a proactive, not reactive, approach to a safer school environment is more cost-effective, financially and emotionally.

Schools with a Crime Stoppers component on their campuses have experienced several benefits: teaching character development, promoting school spirit and pride, and presenting a positive campus image to students.

In addition to being a way students safely reported school crimes anonymously without fear of retaliation, school-based programs have encouraged the development of responsibility.

A variety of crimes are known to have been committed on school campuses, such as vandalism, theft, graffiti, bomb threats, bullying, arson, and presentation of drugs and weapons. Depending on the severity of the crime, rewards for tips ranged from $100-$200 for drugs or weapons on campus, or passes to school activities, movies, free school items and various gift certificates for lesser crimes and for younger students.

Some may complain that paying rewards could promote students to become “snitches” or invent crimes as revenge against other students. That might be true initially; however, crimes are carefully investigated before any rewards are paid.

All things considered, we would rather have an anonymous good student-citizen to safely report crime-solving or crime-preventing information than have a grieving school and community following a violent tragedy on campus that could have been prevented had there been a Crime Stoppers program in place.

For more information on starting a Crime Stoppers program in your school, contact us at crimestoppersvi@gmail.com.

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