Former RCMP members working to raise awareness of Annapolis Valley Crime Stoppers

BERWICK, NS — Two former RCMP officers say they volunteer at Crime Stoppers because they believe in the mission to make communities safer places to live, do business and raise children.

Bob Buchanan of Aylesford has served with the RCMP for nearly 27 years and has been retired for nearly three decades. Buchanan has volunteered for several organizations and has been with Annapolis Valley Crime Stoppers since 1996, where he served several terms as president.

“I stuck with Crime Stoppers because I think it’s the biggest contribution to a livable community,” said Buchanan.

He said the organization enjoys great community support and is very effective. Crime is stopped or prevented by anonymous tips. Buchanan said continued crime can divide communities as people can become unfriendly or suspicious of each other.

He said the organization has received some solid tips from Annapolis Valley residents that have helped solve serious crimes or stop ongoing crime spree.

“It’s a really valuable resource. People aren’t going to come to the police station and say, ‘I saw this,'” Buchanan said. “If they can call anonymously, they will.”

He said many people who call, about 50 percent, don’t want a monetary reward for their tips. They call because, for example, they want to help end crime in their community or recover stolen property, but don’t want to be identified or testify in court.

Buchanan said perhaps the greatest role of the Annapolis Valley Crime Stoppers board is to promote the program and educate the public about how it works. An important message is that they want your information, not your name.

Buchanan said Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers suggests an amount to pay for tips that lead to arrests and charges for various types of crimes, but the amount of a reward comes down to a decision by the local board. Cash rewards can range from $50 to $2,000.

Michael Payne, the new board president of Annapolis Valley Crime Stoppers, said the organization serves Kings and Annapolis counties and currently has about a dozen volunteers.

Payne, a former RCMP member, joined the organization in November 2021. He said he was looking for a volunteer organization to join, and Crime Stoppers is a good fit for him.

As chairman, he helps coordinate and facilitate local Crime Stoppers meetings and activities. He acts as a liaison with other local and provincial governments and reports to the Annapolis Valley group.

“It’s just a way of giving back to the community, and as a police officer for over 30 years, I know the value of the tips that come in,” Payne said.

He said those anonymous calls provide information. Police cannot obtain a search warrant based on an anonymous call, but the information could be a starting point for further investigation, which could lead to arrests and charges.

People with information often want to do the right thing for their community, and Crime Stoppers provides them with a means to anonymously pass their information on to law enforcement. Payne points out that Crime Stoppers are separate from law enforcement agencies, but they work together.

Payne said they are grateful to the City of Berwick for making the council chambers available to the Annapolis Valley group to hold monthly meetings. Buchanan said it’s great to have access to a meeting location that’s central to their service area, and they appreciate the city’s support.

Payne said Crime Stoppers is about making communities a safer place to live, do business and raise children. Buchanan said that’s why he’s part of the organization, and he feels they’re successful in helping them achieve that goal.

The Crime Stoppers volunteers have different backgrounds. Payne and Buchanan are the only two former police officers on the Annapolis Valley board. Buchanan said it’s usually the case that people stay with the organization for a long time once they volunteer.

Raise awareness

Payne said it has members who visit Valley businesses, for example to hand out maps and Crime Stoppers materials to display or distribute to raise awareness.

One aspect of crime that the organization has focused on in recent years is human trafficking. Payne said members have placed information cards on the inside of bathroom stall doors. The cards urge anyone who might be in that situation to call the police or give an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers.

Payne said the Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers Awareness Guide publication is their main fundraiser. This year it will be available online for the first time in digital format.

Annapolis Valley Crime Stoppers has several events planned this year to raise awareness. Buchanan is hosting a BBQ at Bargain Harley’s in Berwick on June 24. There will be information leaflets and people can get a hot dog or sausage in exchange for a voluntary donation.

The group will participate in the Annapolis Valley Exhibition in Lawrencetown, Berwick Gala Days and the New Minas Santa Clause Parade. Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers has a mock prison car that is often used at community parades, such as the Apple Blossom Festival Grand Street Parade, to raise awareness.

Anonymous tips

Anyone who has information about a crime and wishes to remain anonymous can call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477); submit a safe web tip to www.crimestoppers.ns.ca; or use the P3 Tips app.

When a person calls or uses the internet to tip, he or she is given a tip number. Crime Stoppers forwards the tip to the appropriate police station. The police send Crime Stoppers an update, which is given to the tipster when they call back.

If the tipster is entitled to a reward, arrangements are made to meet in a public place to receive payment.

For more information or to download a volunteer application form, visit www.crimestoppers.ns.ca.

Origin of crime stoppers

In 1976, Greg MacAleese, a Canadian-born police officer working in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was investigating a gas bar murder. The crime took place in a well-traveled area, but no one would come forward with information out of apathy or fear of retaliation.

MacAleese believed the case could be solved and approached his chief of police, businesses and the media with an idea. To overcome apathy and fear of retaliation, tipsters would be offered complete anonymity and a monetary reward.

A local television station agreed to produce a reenactment of the crime. It aired during their newscast, around 10:45 p.m. By 8 a.m. the next morning, the crime was solved. Crime Stoppers helped solve 300 crimes over the next four months, and the program took off.

Must know

Information about Crime Stoppers.

• Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers will celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2023. Over the years, about 170,000 tips have been received from all over the province. Those tips resulted in approximately 3,500 arrests.

• Today there are more than 1,700 Crime Stoppers programs in 26 countries around the world, all operating on the same ideas and principles that founder Greg MacAleese led in 1976.

• Crime Stoppers promotes crime reduction through community-based efforts to provide law enforcement authorities with the information they need to bring charges against those responsible.

• Crime Stoppers guarantees the anonymity of tipsters. When someone calls, Crime Stoppers doesn’t ask for a name, calls aren’t traced, and there’s no caller ID on the phones.

• If a tipster chooses to provide a web-based tip, the tip goes through several secure stages that eliminate any information that could be used to identify the tipster.

• Crime Stoppers won’t even reveal the sex of the tipster if law enforcement asks them to.