Eye Spy on Crime

Posted on 05/08/2019

“She had shoulder-length blonde hair, was wearing a green shirt and the person she was with called her Angela.

He was tall with a dark beard and a shaved head.

It was an orange car that had roof racks, a broken left tail light and a loud muffler.”

Each of these seemingly innocuous observations could be the missing piece of a puzzle needed to solve a violent robbery, home invasion, theft, drug dealing, assault, even murder.

As we all go about our daily lives, it’s a reality that criminals are lurking somewhere nearby. They could be a neighbour, work colleague, member of a local sporting group, the person on the bus or tram during a daily commute, even a direct associate – and their illicit activities can erode community confidence and make us feel unsafe in our home, workplace, at a local shopping centre or on public transport.

That’s why it’s important to keep our eyes open, report what we know and hold criminals to account. When it comes to the success of the Crime Stoppers program, it’s very much a matter of quality over quantity when it comes to the information it receives.

Most of us played I-Spy as a kid. Picking out that green tree, red car or brown house taught us how to be more observant of our surroundings. But as we get older and our lives become busier, it’s easy to let those observation skills become rusty.

How many times have we watched the evening news to hear neighbours say they are shocked at the discovery of a drug lab right next door, an arsenal of weapons uncovered somewhere in the street, or the arrest of someone for a serious crime who lived nearby? Chances are they missed the warning signs.

To encourage us all to be alert participants in a safer community, Crime Stoppers has launched its Eye Spy campaign, and provides some useful prompters about the sort of information that is worth sharing with Australia’s most recognised and pre-eminent information reporting service.

You don’t have to say who you are, just share what you know. And the more you know, the greater the value of the information is that you provide. That’s why it’s worthwhile to make a note about:

• What happened, when & where
• Male or female
• Hair colour, length and type
• Estimated height and age
• Athletic, skinny, or obese build
• Skin complexion – type or colour – and eye colour
• Facial hair – beard, moustache, goatee
• Tattoos, piercings
• Accent, sound of voice or language
• Clothing – headwear, footwear, glasses, clothing description, bag, hat, etc.
• Vehicle registration, make & colour
• Distinctive features, roof racks, unusual stickers, vehicle damage
• Photo, video or dashcam footage of incident

When you contact Crime Stoppers you don’t have to provide concrete evidence of a crime. Even if something just doesn’t feel quite right, or there are possible warning signs that criminal activity is happening – like cars coming and going at odd hours – is enough to reach out and share what you know.

Information provided by the community to Crime Stoppers has helped to solve more than 32,500 crimes and seen more than 21,000+ people apprehended since the program first began in SA. In fact, an average of 25 crimes are solved each and every week as a direct result of information from the community, with one apprehension made for every seven contacts made.

So, don’t let crime happen on your watch. If you see something, then say something.

If you think something seems suss, call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

 

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