Crime Stoppers organizations launch campaigns

Crime stoppers are among us, and they've been a little more vocal in recent weeks.

Crime Stoppers organizations in Curry and Roosevelt counties have recently launched campaigns to put themselves back in the community spotlight, reminding tipsters that crime can pay.

Anonymous tips to local hotlines can lead to rewards ranging from $1 to $1,000, organizers said.

Chris Pettigrew is president of the Curry County chapter. Her husband, Doug Pettigrew, has been involved for 14 years.

The COVID-19 pandemic hampered organizational efforts, she said, but they've been able to meet in person again and they're promoting benefits of the organization and actively pursuing funding.

“Crime Stoppers has been here since the 1980s,” Pettigrew wrote on her Facebook page last week.

“In recent years our funding has (become) less and less, but our crime has grown more and more and we are not getting much help.”

But she's hopeful the organization can make a comeback.

“The Curry County's Sheriff's Office took us under their wing and have given us a place to meet and have worked with us,” she said.

Darla Reed said the pandemic also pushed Roosevelt County Crime Stoppers activities to the back burner over the past year. She recently ran across old Crime Stoppers information and was reminded of its potential for helping reduce crime in the area.

She spoke with local law enforcement and concluded, “We need to get this started again.”

Reed, the group's vice president, helped organize a meeting on Monday with the idea of bringing Crime Stoppers back in full force. A second meeting is scheduled Oct. 18, with plans to elect new officers.

Roosevelt Crime Stoppers provides cash awards to anonymous callers who provide information that results in the arrest and conviction of wanted subjects, Reed said.

Curry County Crime Stoppers pays for tips that lead to arrests, Pettigrew said.