The Hawaii Island Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line number, (808) 961-8300, is ubiquitous. It’s in news reports, on public access television, and even on bumper stickers adorning Hawaii Police Department’s blue-and-white cruisers.
And it has proven to be a useful tool to fight crime.
Crime Stoppers has paid more than $62,000 in rewards since the program’s inception in 1981 to ordinary citizens who have provided tips to police that resulted in arrests of suspects.
“Our whole goal is to assist public safety by generating leads that, hopefully, lead to an arrest and solve crimes,” said David De Luz Jr., a businessman and Crime Stoppers president. “We’re like the magic hand with a checkbook that doesn’t lead to public scrutiny.”
The board of 12 concerned community members usually raises funds through their contacts in the community — although a few years back, the organization held a fundraising event featuring comedian Frank De Lima, according to De Luz.
Rewards for successful tips can be up to $1,000, but payouts of the maximum amount are relatively rare, De Luz said. He recalled a Kona homicide case some years ago that led to an anonymous $1,000 award.
In a more recent case in December, a police press release sparked a tip that led to the arrest of Thomas Ah Tou, a 30-year-old Captain Cook man who allegedly stole a backpack and other items from Hilo’s Ben Franklin Crafts store while threatening to use force.
“A caller called Crime Stoppers and identified the suspect, and the victim confirmed this via a photo lineup,” said Officer Amy Omaya of the Hawaii Police Department. “The suspect was arrested within 48 hours of receiving the tip, and the suspect was charged for robbery, terroristic threatening and theft … from the incident. The caller was awarded with a $425 reward from Crime Stoppers.
“This caller helped the investigation move swiftly, (as) the suspect was not well-known in the district of Hilo where the incident occurred.”
De Luz said there is no caller ID on the Crime Stoppers number, and callers are assigned a case number. They are not asked to provide their name.
“They’re told to call back occasionally with the case number,” he said. “And if an award has been given, we’ll let them know that the reward has been approved, this is where you pick it up, and they’re given a secret code or a secret word.
“They have to say the secret code or the secret word, and they’re given an envelope with cash.”
According to statistics provided by Crime Stoppers, there were 10 callers assigned numbers in January, and three cases were solved through tips — two sought fugitives and a runaway minor.
Throughout the history of the program, there have been 6,321 tipster calls. Of those calls, 2,001 concerned crimes publicized by the police.
Crime Stoppers tips have led to 1,045 cases solved. Of those cases, 12 were homicides, 21 were robberies and 10 were sex assaults. Also solved have been 191 burglaries, 137 drug cases, 102 thefts and 22 auto thefts.
“If a tip made to Crime Stoppers leads to an arrest, the lead investigator will submit a reward request,” Omaya said. “The amount requested is based on risk to the caller, value of the information received, offense committed, and the suspect’s involvement.”
Added De Luz, “And from there, we meet, and we decide on what the reward will be.”
“Ironically, out of all the rewards that we’ve have awarded, about 20%, perhaps 30%, go uncollected,” he added.
De Luz said he thinks the uncollected rewards are from people who want anonymity, but feel their reward is by helping law enforcement solve the crime.
“The ultimate goal is, hopefully, doing something to make our community a little bit better place.”
Crime Stoppers tips also have led to police seizing an estimated $1.03 million in property in criminal cases, and have taken illicit drugs with a value of about $12.24 million off the street, police said.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
