Senior safety being stressed

For several years, Crime Stoppers’ programs across Ontario have been working to reach out to one of the province’s most vital resources—seniors.
Because June has been designated “Seniors Month” in Ontario, and June 15 was recognized as “World Elder Abuse Awareness Day,” Crime Stoppers of Northwestern Ontario and northern Minnesota wants to highlight the “Seniors Crime Stoppers” program and stress that seniors’ safety is a very important issue for local communities.
Launched provincially in January, 2006, “Seniors Crime Stoppers” is designed not only to educate seniors about the Crime Stoppers program, but also encourage members of the public to call their local Crime Stoppers program with information on crimes committed against the elderly.
“Unfortunately, no segment of our society, including seniors, is exempt from becoming a potential victim of crime,” said OPP Det. Cst. Gary Potter.
“Crime Stoppers continues to realize that seniors are a very vital resource in our communities and as such, we want to make sure they are aware of what Crime Stoppers can do for them and how they can help to make their neighbourhoods safer,” he added.
The program originally was started by Toronto Crime Stoppers several years ago in an attempt to make seniors aware of the program and to help raise awareness about seniors’ issues.
In order for the program to be circulated province-wide, the Ontario Association of Crime Stoppers (OACS) partnered with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services in 2006 to receive funding through the ministry’s “Safer Communities” grant program.
An educational DVD was produced as a result of this partnership and circulated to all 38 programs in the province to help inform seniors about Crime Stoppers and topics such as fraud, elder abuse, and neglect.
This DVD continues to be used by programs today.
“We know that seniors are the eyes and ears of their community, and by paying attention to what is going on in their community and reporting incidents anonymously to Crime Stoppers, they are a very important part of keeping their communities safe,” Det. Cst. Potter stressed.
The senior population is one of the fastest-growing populations in our country, and anyone wanting to provide anonymous information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously by calling 1-800-222-TIPS or visiting www.tipshelp.com
Tips also can be left via text messaging from cell phones by texting tip262 and your information to CRIMES (274637).
Crime Stoppers of Northwestern Ontario and northern Minnesota is a community-based organization that provides people with an anonymous, confidential way to relay information to investigators without ever having to get involved as a witness.
The program’s toll-free line (1-800-222-TIPS), online web-based tips, and text messaging are operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and cash rewards of up to $2,000 are offered for information that leads to an arrest or charge.
Since its inception in 1987, this Crime Stoppers program has received more than 15,000 anonymous tips, some of which have helped police to seize over $6 million worth of illegal narcotics, recover more than $1 million worth of stolen property, and lay over 2,000 charges.
The program has paid out more than $124,000 worth of rewards.