How does Crime Stoppers pay a reward to an anonymous person?
If the tip information leads to an arrest, indictment, or warrant of an offender, or the recovery or seizure of stolen property or illegal narcotics, the Crime Stoppers Board of Directors will authorize a reward.
If a reward is authorized, the Tipster must contact Crime Stoppers to collect the reward and must provide their tip report number (a randomized report number is assigned to each tip so the tipster’s identity is never known to anyone involved in the case) in order to receive instructions on retrieving the reward. To ensure that Tipsters remain anonymous, rewards are paid in cash and Tipsters use only their tip report number to identify them as the Tipster. Specific details about the reward payment procedure are not publicly released for fear of weakening security and because the process changes throughout the year.
How much are rewards?
Rewards are based on a point system that considers several factors, including; the type of crime solved, the number of crimes solved, the number of persons arrested, and the value of any recovered property or seized narcotics. The Board of Directors for the crime stoppers organization handling the tip must authorize every reward. However, rewards do range from $100 to $2,000.
Why do some tips get paid a reward and others do not?
The Board of Directors for the crime stoppers organization handling the tip determines which tips are rewarded and the dollar amount of each reward. The Board of Directors authorizes rewards only for tips that result in an arrest, indictment, warrant issued, or the recovery or seizure of stolen property or illegal narcotics. Often, multiple tipsters possess the same information and Crime Stoppers receives multiple tips containing the same or similar information. When the Caddo-Shreveport Crime Stoppers Board of Directors authorizes a reward in such instances, the reward is paid to the first, most accurate tip received.