Crime Stoppers needs help to keep serving Lancaster [column] (2024)

Residents in an East Earl Township neighborhood were having sleepless nights.

A vandal was slicing the tires on their vehicles and there seemed to be no stopping his spree, despite hard work by the local police force and video taken by doorbell cameras.

Police appealed to the Lancaster County Crime Stoppers for help identifying the man. Information was posted on the Crime Stoppers webpage, along with the offer of a reward up to $1,000.

Not long after, two tipsters gave police information and a man was arrested and accused of the vandalism. The tipsters each received $500 for supplying information that ended in an arrest.

Since our inception, Crime Stoppers has paid well over $100,000 in rewards on behalf of law enforcement agencies for information that led to resolution of hundreds of crimes and the arrest of many fugitives.

Crimes solved include high-profile cases, such as the senseless murder of Ray Diener in West Donegal Township in 2007 and the brutal killing of teacher Nicole Mathewson in Lancaster in 2014. Both cases were solved in large part thanks to information submitted to Crime Stoppers and passed on to local law enforcement.

Lancaster County Crime Stoppers is now in its 37th year of issuing rewards to people for helping local police solve crimes.

But how much longer does Crime Stoppers have?

You don’t hear much about us. No “fugitive of the week” ads in the newspaper and no billboards telling the public that “crime doesn’t pay, but we do.”

We need a financial angel or angels or we may soon follow the fate of the organization that created us.

Lancaster County Crime Stoppers was formed in 1987 as part of the Kiwanis Club of Lancaster County’s community outreach. The club believed a way was needed to encourage citizens to come forward with information about crimes and to help find fugitives. Members understood that fear of reprisal or being labeled an “informer” often discourages people from providing police with information. The Crime Stoppers model assures anonymity, along with the incentive of a reward.

When the club dissolved in 2011, Crime Stoppers became an independent charitable organization. The mission of Crime Stoppers remains true to the vision of its founding members and consistent with Crime Stoppers organizations worldwide. With an all-volunteer board, no employees and minimal administrative expenses, most contributions are put toward paying rewards.

Over the years, Crime Stoppers set up tiplines that people could call or text at Tip411. There was a tipline for schools that was replaced by the state with its “Safe2Say Something” (844-SAF2SAY). A “fugitive of the week” advertisem*nt once ran in local newspapers, along with occasional full pages picturing the most wanted fugitives.

Our role is changing. Crime Stoppers will eventually go out of the tip business. But it won’t go out of the rewards business, unless it runs out of money.

Changing role

In 2015, then-Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman (now a county judge) contracted with CrimeWatch to provide web services to county police departments.

With access to individual police departments’ webpages, citizens can submit anonymous tips directly to police departments. As quickly as the use of Tip411 had grown, it faded as CrimeWatch became the predominate way of submitting tips. As use declined dramatically, Crime Stoppers discontinued using the Tip411 service in 2021.

Crime Stoppers has a webpage presence on CrimeWatch (lancaster.crimewatchpa.com/crimestoppers), administered by Lancaster city police Sgt. Joel Thomas, who also takes requests for rewards or help from local departments. The board votes on requests for rewards.

Tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers through the webpage; however, the majority of tips are going directly to individual police departments.

The advent of CrimeWatch has also impacted the number of tips received through the tip telephone line, 800-322-1913. Few tips are received by phone, and the line will likely be discontinued.

For years, Crime Stoppers received strong financial support from businesses and foundations. Gradually, those sources of support declined and, in 2020, all such support ended. The COVID-19 pandemic further complicated fundraising efforts.

In six years with ExtraGive, we came up short even after the Lancaster County commissioners honored us with a commendation in 2017, marking our 30th anniversary. Publicity did not translate into contributions. Purchasing billboard advertising in partnership with the Lancaster Police Foundation one year with ExtraGive also fell short.

In 2022, Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams provided Crime Stoppers with a one-time contribution of $10,000 from drug asset forfeiture funds. This was the largest contribution Crime Stoppers ever received.

For many years, Crime Stoppers was able to maintain a bank balance of about $50,000. By the end of 2021, the account balance was down to $15,000 and the board began discussing the possibility of dissolving.

District Attorney Adams’ contribution was a lifeline, but only a temporary one, absent additional financial support.

(Crime Stoppers counts as its collaborative law enforcement partners the Lancaster city police, the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office and the Lancaster County Chiefs of Police Association.)

The board had hoped to increase the size of rewards and thus the incentive to provide information. However, without sponsorships, the existence of Crime Stoppers is in question. This would leave Lancaster County as the only county in southcentral and southeast Pennsylvania without a Crime Stoppers organization.

Despite few tips being submitted directly to Crime Stoppers, the members of the board do not see this as impeding the organization’s effectiveness or altering our mission. The board sees this technology as only enhancing our efforts.

Our mission of providing rewards for critical information about crimes in an anonymous manner remains unchanged. Crime Stoppers continues as the only organization to do so. In some cases, reward funds are created, but this takes time. Few if any law enforcement agencies budget funds to enable them to offer rewards immediately, depending on Crime Stoppers to do so.

Crime Stoppers is committed to giving rewards for as long as funds hold out. Unfortunately, if businesses, foundations and the public no longer see Crime Stoppers as relevant to combating crime in Lancaster County, the time may well be near when media stories about crimes no longer conclude with, “Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information concerning this crime.”

Michael Landis is the secretary for the Lancaster County Crime Stoppers board of directors. In late 2015, he retired after a 46-year career in law enforcement, during which he rose to the position of Lancaster city's chief of police and later served 15 years as the Lancaster County chief of detectives. He has been associated with or on the board of the Lancaster County Crime Stoppers since its inception.