Article

Nine News Adelaide will continue as the official TV partner of Crime Stoppers SA for another three years, drawing on the power of television to engage with South Australians to help solve some of the state’s most heinous crimes.

Crime Stoppers SA (CSSA) Chair, Ms Sharon Hanlon, welcomed the renewed commitment by Nine News Adelaide, saying the weekly crime segment, news stories, community service announcements and TV documentary specials played critical roles in profiling a range of unsolved murders and other serious crimes.

“Channel 9, and the Nine News Adelaide team in particular, have been long-standing supporters of the Crime Stoppers program and we are very excited to be continuing our relationship because we share the common vision of doing all we can to make South Australia a safer place to live,” Ms Hanlon said.

“This renewed 3-year agreement allows Crime Stoppers to tap into Nine’s extensive coverage area and use TV to spark people’s memories, plea for information, and encourage people to be brave enough to anonymously come forward with tips and information about crime,” she said.

“In recent years our partnership with Nine News has attracted global accolades. In the 2016 Crime Stoppers International Awards we won the Best Special Report/Features category for developing a series of feature stories – including a TV documentary – to profile 32 unsolved murder cases as part of Operation Persist. That was followed by winning the same category in 2017 for the 2012 murder of Adelaide father, Jayson Doelz, which resulted in a number of people arrested and charged.”

Channel 9 Adelaide Managing Director, Mr Sean O’Brien, said the station placed great importance on actively contributing to a safer community through its continued support of the Crime Stoppers program.

“Crime and the fear of crime impacts on every South Australian and erodes the confidence of our state, and the Nine News team has thrown its full support behind the Crime Stoppers program to encourage people to come forward with information about criminals and illegal activity,” Mr O’Brien said.

“With an average of 25 crimes solved each and every week by information provided to Crime Stoppers, we are proud to give back to the community through this very special partnership that perfectly aligns with our own core values and community focus,” he said.

Nearly 19,500 calls were received by Crime Stoppers SA during the 2017 calendar year from people wanting to share information, resulting in a total of 911 apprehensions made.

PICTURE: Crime Stoppers SA Chair, Sharon Hanlon and Channel 9 Adelaide Managing Director, Mr Sean O’Brien, sign the renewed agreement at the 9 News studios in Adelaide.

Images of a mobility scooter and a distinctive motorbike helmet have been released in relation to the suspected homicide of Adrian Trett, who was found unconscious on David Street, Mannum early on Monday 23 April 2018.

The 45-year old was taken to hospital with a serious head injury, but never regained consciousness and died in the Royal Adelaide Hospital on 5 May.

His death is being treated as a homicide, and investigators have released images of a mobility scooter and helmet in the hope it will encourage further assistance from the community.

Police have seized a mobility scooter they believe is linked to the case for further forensic examination and are seeking information about that vehicle and anyone who saw it around the time of Mr Trett’s death as they believe it was used to move him from an Asmus Street address to nearby David Street.

Efforts are underway to locate a black motorbike helmet with a distinctive “8” emblazoned on the side, making the appearance of an eight ball, which was owned by Mr Trett.

An associate of Mr Trett was captured on CCTV at the Mannum On the Run Service Station at 9.18pm on Sunday night (22 April) wearing the helmet and riding Mr Trett’s small motorbike, prior to the victim being found unconscious.

While his motorbike was recovered alongside Mr Trett, his helmet was missing.

Investigators are also wanting to identify two or possibly three people – one of whom may have been a woman – who were seen attending to Mr Trett and wrapping him in blanket while he was in David Street.

Anyone with information that may assist is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at https://crimestopperssa.com.au/

Rewards are available and you can remain anonymous.

Reflecting the community’s growing concern about the impact of drugs, there were plenty of people who opted to anonymously contact Crime Stoppers during June and share information about the manufacture and sale of a variety of illegal drugs.

Information saw the seizure of 55 grams of Amphetamine, 2 grams of Heroin, 100mls of Fantasy and 7 Ecstasy tabs. A total of 66 cannabis plants and more than 15kg of dry cannabis was also confiscated.
A number of raids also uncovered firearms, with a total of 7 different types of firearms seized in addition to other illegal weapons and firearm accessories.

During June we partnered with 9 News Adelaide to profile the suspected murder of Adrian Trett, who was found unconscious and wrapped in a blanket at Mannum before he died two weeks later. We also put the mysterious disappearance of Salisbury man Brian Cairney in June 2010 back in the spotlight and renewed an appeal for information.

We also asked for help to identify an arsonist caught on CCTV attacking a Para Hills West business, as well as the identity of a man who was spotted stealing items at Bunnings Prospect and then threatened staff with a flick knife when confronted.

During June:
– We received 1,820 telephone calls and reports via the website and Report Suspicious Behaviour app;
– We provided police with a total of 866 intelligence reports;
– The 741 actions issued for police investigation saw 79 total apprehensions;
– More than 7,000 people went to our website and generated nearly 22,000 page views;
– 7 firearms were seized, along with an array of illegal accessories and other dangerous weapons;
– 21 males and 8 females from across regional and metropolitan SA were charged with a range of serious crimes that included firearm offences, selling and possessing a controlled drug, cultivating commercial quantities of cannabis and more.

If you have any information about criminals and unsolved crimes, then call our free hotline on 1800 333 000, go to crimestopperssa.com.au or download our free Report Suspicious Behaviour app.

Rewards are available and you can remain anonymous

Every year, millions of children, women and men fall into the hands of traffickers, lured by fake promises and deceit.

Human trafficking has become a global multi-billion-dollar enterprise, affecting nearly every country in the world.

Monday, 30th July is World Day against Trafficking in Persons and this year the focus is on trafficking of children and young people.

Often victims are separated from their families because of humanitarian crises and armed conflict, with children and young people at greater risk.

Human traffickers are also misusing the Internet and new technologies to broaden their reach, using apps and chat rooms to exploit and abuse young people.

Crime Stoppers Australia, as part of Crime Stoppers International, is committed to raising public awareness of these issues and the plight of victims, almost a third of whom are children.

Nearly every country in the world has pledged to best protect children and young people by ending impunity for traffickers and ensuring that criminal justice responses safeguard the interests of children at every stage.

All of us have a responsibility to prevent and stop human trafficking, and protect the health, well-being and potential of all children.

More about the campaign can be found at https://www.unodc.org/endht/

This is the likeness of a man wanted for a serious assault at Henley Beach in June.

Just before 6.30pm on Sunday 10 June, a 35-year-old male victim was with three friends leaving a licensed premises at Henley Square, when they got into a dark coloured SUV believing the car was a ride share vehicle they had requested.

The SUV driver started to drive in the wrong direction, and when this was pointed out the male driver of the car stopped and pulled into a car-park in Henley Square.

The four people got out of the car, when the driver assaulted the 35-year-old man by punching him in the face, breaking his jaw.

The victim was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for surgery that saw a titanium plate fitted in his broken jaw.

The man is described as Mediterranean appearance about 35-45 years-old, about 170cms tall with a solid build and short shaved to balding dark hair. The car he was driving was a black SUV with black and gold personalised number plates.

Anyone with information on the incident or believes they know the pictured suspect is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report at the website.

You can remain anonymous and rewards are available.

The investigation into the suspected murders of Leo Daly, David McWilliams, Robert Pendrgast and Juan Morgan began with the hijacking of a cigarette truck in 1998.

The hijacking by armed men wearing masks and overalls in broad daylight in suburban Adelaide was a big deal, but as it unfolded police uncovered links to men they could not locate.

In particular the disappearances of Mr McWilliams and Mr Daly came to light, later followed by associate Mr Pendergast.

Finally as inquiries progressed, information was received about a further murder – that of 15-year-old Juan Morgan who had not been since 1992, but also appeared connected to the group.

Little information has come to light over the years regarding the disappearance and suspected murders of these four men.

Investigators believe there are probably only three people who know what happened in relation to each of these four men, which is part of the reason these cases remain unsolved.

The tight criminal group were mostly involved with theft, re-birthing stolen vehicles and drug trafficking – with the cigarette truck hijacking their most significant and serious offending before the police investigation disrupted their activities.

There is a total of $1.6 million available in rewards in connection with Operation Jarrah – not just for information leading to the conviction of the person responsible but for recovery of the remains of these four men.

Police did charge two men with one of the murders, but later withdrew the charge after a key witness refused to give evidence.

Anyone with information about these investigations is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at https://crimestopperssa.com.au/ – you can remain anonymous.

The first anniversary milestone of a major partnership forged between Crime Stoppers SA and Police Credit Union has resulted in a number of highly-effective community safety campaigns delivered right across South Australia during the last 12 months.

Crime Stoppers South Australia Chair, Ms Sharon Hanlon, said the partnership with Police Credit Union had assisted the not-for-profit to engage the community, encourage people to anonymously share information about criminals and their activities, and deliver a range of crime prevention campaigns.

“During the 2017 calendar year Crime Stoppers SA received nearly 19,500 calls from people wanting to share information, resulting in a total of 911 apprehensions made by police. The support from Police Credit Union as a major program partner, as well as Channel 9 as our media partner directly contribute to that outstanding result – and the community are ultimately the biggest winners from having a safer community,” Ms Hanlon said.

“In partnership with Police Credit Union we developed and delivered a home safety campaign aligned with the October long weekend and Easter break to remind people to take some basic security precautions before going away. In advance of a potentially deadly summer we partnered on a bushfire arson awareness campaign that harnessed the power of social media and traditional methods to spread the word about the suspicious activity of firebugs,” she said.

“We joined forces and used Valentine’s Day as a quirky opportunity to help people avoid a broken heart by dating scammers, kept people safe over the Christmas period by sharing ways to look after themselves, and more recently we delivered a statewide initiative to help safeguard South Australians from online scammers as part of National Scams Awareness Week.

Police Credit Union CEO, Mr Costa Anastasiou, said that by supporting the Crime Stoppers SA program the organisation was actively supporting better communities.

“As a customer-owned organisation we are immensely proud to be able to re-invest profits back into enhancing our services and giving back to the local community through a number of very worthwhile activities, and the work of Crime Stoppers is about as important as it gets because crime impacts the entire community and levels of public confidence,” Mr Anastasiou said.

“With an average of 25 crimes solved each and every week as a direct result of information provided to Crime Stoppers we know that it delivers outstanding results, and we look forward to supporting the program and partnering to deliver even more community safety and crime prevention programs in the years ahead,” he said.

If you have any information about criminals or criminal activity, then call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, report online at crimestopperssa.com.au or download the free Report Suspicious Behaviour App for iOS and Android phones.

People can remain anonymous and rewards are available.

The 2017 program results for Crime Stoppers SA included:

• 19,439 calls from people wanting to share information about criminals and their illegal activities;
• 4,222 online and other reports lodged using the Report Suspicious Behaviour app or visiting www.crimestopperssa.com.au
• 911 apprehensions including wanted fugitives, arsonists, and suspects wanted for robberies, theft and assault;
• 1,901 charges laid for drug dealing, firearms, robbery, serious assaults and child pornography offences;
• 79 firearms seized – including ammunition and a range of illegal accessories.
• 1266 plants and 241kg of cannabis (which equates to 86,229 street deals); and
• Shut down of 12 clandestine labs.