Timeline
July 8 1996
Crime Stoppers established in South Australia
Crime Stoppers SA established – founding members were SA Police, RAA (Royal Automobile Association), Law Society, Insurance Council of Australia, Motor Trades Association and BankSA, with Principal sponsor being the State Bank of South Australia.
The 1996 Board was:
- Chairman Graham Thompson (Housing Industry Association)
- Deputy Chairman – Christopher Newland (Insurance Council of Australia)
- Assistant Commissioner Robert Lean -Treasurer (SA Police)
- Secretary Peter Hennekam (RAA)
- Sue Bishop (Law Society of SA)
- John Brewer (Neighborhood Watch)
- Lisa Fahey (BankSA)
- Richard Flashman (MTA)
- Carmel O’Loughlin (Office for the Status of Women)
- Rick Honan (Security Institute of SA)
- Neil Smith (Southern Television Corporation)
January 1 2011
20,000 crimes solved milestone
Crime Stoppers SA thanks the community for helping to achieve 20,344 charges being laid against 13,679 offenders for a range of offences, with around 1800 telephone calls and 140 online reports received each month.
To acknowledge the milestone and encourage further community participation, all police stations received Crime Stoppers posters .
July 17 2012
YouTube channel launched
June 1 2013
New look logo introduced nationally
June 3 2013
Major website refresh
November 20 2013
First female Chairperson elected – Sharon Hanlon
Ms Hanlon first joined the Board in 2011, offering extensive corporate governance experience from having served as a director on a number of public and private sector boards and sub-committees, including in chair and deputy chair roles, and as a long-standing member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Read more here.
March 18 2014
$1m rewards offered for 9 cold cases involving 14 child victims
November 4 2014
MyWheels app launched
The app was a car theft prevention initiative that achieved >5,100 downloads and recorded of >2,700 vehicles (now discontinued)
May 20 2015
New 3-year deal with Channel 9
New 3-year partnership with Channel 9 reinforcing itself as major media partner and providing greater surety to the crime-fighting program which has helped to solve some of SA’s most serious crimes.
Read more here.
February 22 2016
Dob in a Dealer national campaign announced
SA-based community engagement activities held at Mt Gambier, Riverland, Barossa, Murray Bridge, Whyalla, Western Adelaide and South Coast (Christies Beach). SA results included 145 drug Information reports (132% increase) and 98 methamphetamine information reports (representing a 253% increase).
Read more here.
May 18 2016
New website launched
The website provided increased functionality and features an overview of open and unresolved cases and profiles of missing and wanted persons.
Report Suspicious Behaviour app also launched – available in iOS and Android versions
November 3 2016
20-year anniversary and national Crime Stoppers Australia conference
As part of its 20-year celebrations in South Australia, Crime Stoppers SA hosted the annual national conference, which saw delegates come together to share case studies, network and learn about best practice directions for improving community safety.
November 10 2016
28,000 crimes solved milestone achieved
Results included 11 murders, three attempt murders, major arson incidents and closure of numerous clandestine drug laboratories.
Total value of rewards paid since beginning of program exceed $171,000
December 8 2016
Crime Stoppers International (CSI) Award wins
- Best Special Report/Features (communities with 1-3m people) category for Operation Persist (cold case murders)
- Print Media Award (communities with 1-3m people) – Khandalyce Kiara Pearce murder
Read more here
February 18 2017
Crime Stoppers SA launches Facebook profile
May 15 2017
Crime Stoppers Day 2017
National Crime Stoppers Day is an opportunity to thank the public for their help in achieving outstanding results and taking an active role in helping to make the community safer.
May 17 2017
Chairperson Sharon Hanlon elected Deputy Chair of Crime Stoppers Australia
June 15 2017
Make the Call campaign launch
The campaign was developed in response to 25 percent increase in use of methamphetamine over the previous year in South Australia.
Read more here.
July 12 2017
National Firearms Amnesty
The amnesty ran over three months and resulted in 6 community engagement events in South Australia. With a focus on unregistered and unwanted guns, an average of 500 firearms were surrendered daily across the nation and a total of of more than 30,000 were handed in for registration, sale or destruction.
Read more here.
July 12 2017
Partnership announced with Police Credit Union
Major funding partnership announced between Crime Stoppers South Australia and Police Credit Union, with the original 3-year agreement being extended for another 3-year term in 2020.
November 7 2017
CSI Award wins
- Best Overall Specialised Program – Crime Stoppers South Australia for Operation Persist: solving cold case murders (For Communities 1 to 3 million)
- Best Website – Crime Stoppers South Australia for website redesign & launch of mobile reporting apps (For Communities 1 to 3 million)
- Best Special Report / Feature – Crime Stoppers South Australia for 2012 Cold Case Murder: Jayson Doelz (For Communities 1 to 3 million)
Read more here
May 20 2018
National Crime Stoppers Day support
Crime Stoppers SA followed the national lead by adopting the ‘crime is crime in any language’ focus to encourage people from CALD backgrounds to share what they know about unsolved crimes and suspicious activity.
August 15 2018
9 News Adelaide re-signs as TV partner for a new 3-year term
The Nine News Adelaide team are long-standing supporters of the Crime Stoppers program and share the common vision of doing all we can to make South Australia a safer place to live.
Read more here.
September 1 2018
2nd Dob in a Dealer national campaign launched
Running over six months and achieving 6 community engagement events in SA, resulting in 1,712 information reports over the term of the campaign.
Read more here.
November 1 2018
CSI award wins announced and SA Chair becomes CSI President
Crime Stoppers SA Chairperson, Sharon Hanlon, becomes the first woman to be elected President of Crime Stoppers International.
Crime Stoppers SA announced as category winner for the annual CSI awards:
- Best Specialised Program – Susan Goodwin murder investigation
- Best Public Service Announcement – Festive season personal safety campaign
- Best Crime of the Week – Martin Meffert cold case murder
Read more here.
May 27 2019
Crime Stoppers Day 2019
The Impact Report, released on Crime Stoppers Day, found 82% of Australians feel safer knowing the Crime Stoppers program is in place, and 81% of people believe the option to remain anonymous is a major drawcard.
October 17 2019
Home-grown crime solving efforts attract global award accolades
Crime Stoppers SA recognised for delivering benchmark crime-solving campaigns at the Crime Stoppers International Awards after it was announced as winner of the Best Specialised Training Award (Make The Call campaign) and Best Media Television Award (Golden Grove taxi assault) categories.
Read more here.
November 22 2019
Crime Stoppers SA partners with Schoolies
Crime Stoppers SA sponsored the official photobooth at Schoolies Festival, as the perfect opportunity to engage the next generation on their terms and encourage them to share information about unsolved crime and suspicious activity.
Read more here.
February 28 2020
Survey shows cybercrime tops list of business concerns
A Business SA survey conducted on behalf of Crime Stoppers finds that more than two thirds of South Australian businesses had been a victim of crime in the past two years, with cyber-crime topping their concerns.
Read the full results here.
March 5 2020
Partnership announcement with Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (SA Branch)
The partnership aimed to create a safer environment for health care staff.
Read more here.
May 18 2020
Crime Stoppers Day 2020
An independent national survey reveals as many as 1 in 5 Australians choose to turn a blind eye to unsolved crime and suspicious activity rather than speaking out, prompting the theme “Trust Your Gut.”
May 25 2020
First group of Ambassadors announced
Inaugural Crime Stoppers SA ambassadors included:
- Andrew Marshall, President of the Master Builders Association,
- Philip Morton, Managing Director of Morton Philips,
- Jodie van Deventer, CEO for the Committee for Adelaide,
- Martin Haese,
- CEO at Business SA, and
- Channel 9 Adelaide Managing Director, Mr Sean O’Brien.
Read more here.
October 1 2020
CSI Award win for help to solve cold case murder
Media category (Special Feature) for efforts to help solve the shooting murder of Jason De Ieso, which had been stonewalled by a code of silence amongst rival outlaw motorcycle gang members and associates.
Read more here.
October 12 2020
State Government funding support announced
State Government commits $200,000 per annum over four years to offset operational costs and deliver critical crime-solving and prevention activities
December 18 2020
Partnership announcement with Torrens Transit
The partnership resulted in the Crime Stoppers logo being prominently displayed on more than 800 buses operating in the Adelaide public transport network.
Read more here.
May 17 2021
Crime Stoppers Day 2021
Crime Stoppers Day 2021 provided opportunity to remind people that their superpower is the courage to speak up and share what they know about unsolved crime and suspicious activity.
A total of nearly 53,000 South Australians were reached and engaged via social media activity, and 229 new page fans secured directly as a result of the advertising push.
Read more here.
August 2 2021
Nigel Smart announced as Chief Executive Officer
Former Adelaide Football Club Chief Operating Officer, Nigel Smart, announced as the new CEO for Crime Stoppers South Australia, following an extensive national and international recruitment process. Read the media release here.
November 15 2021
Crime Stoppers SA joins Instagram
It’s hard to ignore the growing popularity of this social media platform, which is why Crime Stoppers SA launched its Instagram profile to help spread the word – particularly with younger people.
If you haven’t followed our Insta profile yet, click here and show your support.
November 24 2021
35,000 crimes solved milestone
Since Crime Stoppers first started in South Australia on 8 July 1996 it has helped police to catch nearly 23,000 criminals and solve some of SA’s most heinous crimes.
Read more about this milestone here.
December 1 2021
Crime solving approach earns international accolade
Crime Stoppers SA again achieved international accolades for our efforts to help solve crime, winning the Media category at the 2021 Crime Stoppers International Awards. Read more here.
December 23 2021
Mobile billboards unveiled for Task Force Southern
As part of the police investigation into several unsolved murders, Crime Stoppers SA unveiled three mobile billboards on Crime Scene Investigation vehicles to promote the significant rewards of up to $600,000 on offer. Read more here.
December 26 2021
Prohibited plants under the biosecurity spotlight
Crime Stoppers SA announced a partnership with Green Adelaide and the Department of Primary Industries and Regions to tackle the illegal trade of two invasive aquatic weeds. Read more here.
January 31 2022
Partnership with City of Whyalla announced
A new initiative with the City of Whyalla gives residents and visitors greater control when it comes to a safer local community. Read more here.
February 8 2022
Crime Stoppers releases 2021 results
More than 7,000 additional calls to the Crime Stoppers hotline were received during 2021 compared to the previous year. Read more here.
February 16 2022
National campaign takes aim at illicit firearms
Crime Stoppers launches Phase Two of the National Illicit Firearms Campaign, with Crime Stoppers jurisdictions across Australia encouraging people to share what they know about illegal guns through dozens of local engagement activities over a 3-month period. Read more here.
May 23 2022
Make the Right Call campaign
With some people unsure about when to contact Crime Stoppers versus Police Assistance and Triple 000, Crime Stoppers Australia used Crime Stoppers Day on Monday, 23 May 2022 to set the record straight through the Make the Right Call campaign. Read more here.
June 23 2022
Jumpsuit Jane engages younger South Australians to contact Crime Stoppers
Our Jumpsuit Jane campaign – inspired by the common use of avatars as a virtual identity – saw development of a 15-second audio track for Spotify and a short video. A Spotify ad ran for a 6-week period and achieved a reach of more than 85,000 people, 601,500 ad completes (completion rate of 78.84%) and 723 website clicks. The video was promoted using Google Ads and achieved more than 900 views and more than 3.3 hours watch time. Find out more here.
July 11 2022
CBD campaign tackles carpark crime
Motorists working or visiting the city were encouraged to remove items of value and secure their vehicle in response to a spike in theft incidents from motor vehicles in the CBD. Posters displayed in major city carparks and police stations, and geofenced social media reached an estimated 127,359 people.
September 1 2022
Mawson Lakes initiative puts the brakes on car thieves
Crime Stoppers partnered with SA Police to tackle a spike in theft incidents from motor vehicles, and achieved a decrease by around 40 per cent in the area.
On-the-ground policing measures supported online engagement, reaching more than 34,600 people and nearly 1900 website visit.
September 20 2022
Anonymity the focus of Photofit campaign
We thought we’d put a new twist on that common investigative technique by highlighting that when someone contacts Crime Stoppers, who they are doesn’t really matter to us! The first phase of this campaign reached more than 106,000 South Australians and saw more than 1600 clicks to our website for more information. Find out more here.
October 5 2022
Wildlife Crime & the Law teacher resource
With the Illegal trade in wildlife estimated to be worth up to AU$30 billion globally per year, Crime Stoppers worked with some of Australia’s leading education professionals to develop a Wildlife Crime and the Law teachers’ resource for educators of Years 7-10 students. Read more here.
October 20 2022
Roxby Downs community safety initiative
Crime Stoppers SA partnered with BHP to engage people living and working in Roxby Downs to share information about all crime types, especially people behaving in an anti-social way, are involved in dangerous or unlicensed driving and drug dealing. Posters, flyers and targeted social media achieved a reach of more than 7,292 and resulted in tips about drugs, arson, weapons, traffic offences and organised crime.
November 15 2022
Shoplifting suspects left with nowhere to hide
The 8-week campaign, launched at an industry breakfast, asked for the public’s help to identify suspected professional thieves and gangs actively stealing from SA retailers. The dedicated webpage recorded 9,705 pageviews, while social media had a reach of 408,202, as well as 3,040 likes/comments and 9,927 website clicks. Of the 62 62 suspects profiled, 40 nominations were received and multiple investigations launched. Read the launch media release here.
November 25 2022
Schoolies photobooth sponsorship
Crime Stoppers SA once again sponsored the photobooth at Schoolies Festival as part of direct efforts to engage a younger cohort. Each day of the festival a different key message from Crime Stoppers was promoted. The support was also promoted on the CSSA website and social media platforms, reaching nearly 30,000 people.
March 28 2023
Illicit Drugs campaign launched
Crime Stoppers launches the “They’ll never know” campaign, using $3.55 million from seized criminal assets to turn the tables on organised crime and the illicit drug trade. Read the media release here.
April 13 2023
Booze bandits in the shoplifting spotlight
In response to brazen thefts from liquor stores and shoplifting incidents where staff have been assaulted, we asked the community to help identify shoplifting suspects who have been caught on CCTV. Read more here.
April 27 2023
Heat turned on on firewood thieves
A spike in firewood theft across the Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills inspired a campaign to help catch thieves. Targeted social media reached more than 33,000 people and saw 1,170 visits to our website for more information, while a pop-up community stand at Bunnings in Gawler and variable message trailers were deployed at Gawler and Williamstown. In addition to new information about active local wood thieves, police arrested three people for theft of railway sleepers in the area. Read our media release here.
May 16 2023
Lock it or lose it reminder helps catch thieves
A campaign to address a rise in theft from motor vehicle incidents in the Prospect area utilised a combination of on-the-ground policing measures, a prominent variable message board reminder and targeted social media advertising occurred, reaching an estimated 22,000 people and resulting in more than 1100 visits to our website. The integrated approach saw police make 12 arrests, and information about suspicious activity received from the local community.
June 20 2023
Partnership with DEW helps tackle environmental crimes
The Department for Environment and Water (DEW), which manages the State’s national parks and wildlife through the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), signs a two-year trial partnership with Crime Stoppers SA to strengthen South Australia’s biodiversity protection. The agreement has seen development of an online portal where people can share information about environmental crimes anonymously. Read more here.
June 27 2023
Multi-language assets bolster drug trade crackdown
A suite of multi-language options are released in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Malay, Punjabi, Spanish and Vietnamese, the range of promotional materials encourage people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities to anonymously share information about the illicit drug trade. Read more here.
July 17 2023
Drug Crime and the Law teaching pack released
There are more than 35 links to videos, websites, apps and worksheets within the latest pack, covering drug trafficking, drug crime and the law and the signs of illegal drug manufacture, supply and distribution. Find out more here.