Owensboro’s gun-related crime was up in January compared to the last four years, Owensboro Police Department Chief Art Ealum said last month. Owensboro Crime Stoppers said they also experienced a high increase in tips for the month.
Chris Brown, chair of the Crime Stoppers organization, said they received 48 tips in January on recent crimes.
“That’s on the higher side compared to January 2021,” said Brown, who is now a reserve officer but previously worked for OPD as the head of the investigations division
He noted that the tips Crime Stoppers receive are extremely valuable to solving crimes in the city. While Crime Stoppers does grant tips to OPD, it is a completely separate entity from the department.
The Crime Stoppers board is made up of roughly 12 civilians. The board meets once a month and reviews the tips, go through a specific process to maintain the anonymity of the submitter. Brown said the tips are submitted to a service exterior to the United States and then sent to Crime Stoppers with no identifiable information listed.
As they only meet once a month, there could be a long time before a tip is read after being submitted.
Information can be submitted any time, regardless of how long ago the case originated.
“A tip came in about three months [after a crime had been solved] and we were able to locate a weapon that was involved, and so that was very important,” Brown said. “It was three months after the case was solved, but that was one of the factors [we needed].
To further ensure there is no breach in confidentiality, he said that if an award is given out due to the tip, codenames and a drop-off point are made at a local bank.
“Confidential is confidential and anonymous is anonymous,” Brown said.
Brown noted the time period it takes for a reward to go through the system and the amount awarded vary per case.
Nonetheless, the ability the organization has to receive potentially garner lifesaving information, as Brown said, is largely invaluable to Crime Stoppers and law enforcement agencies.
