Officials with Chatham-Kent Crime Stoppers are looking ahead to reducing crime within the community in 2021 while also reflecting on past success with over $10 million dollars worth of drugs seized in the past year.
January is recognized as Crime Stoppers Month and members of the local program raised a flag at the Civic Centre in Chatham on Monday to increase awareness of the initiative.
Outgoing Police Coordinator David Bakker said 2020 was a successful year for the local Crime Stoppers program, as shown through an annual report.
Chatham-Kent Crime Stoppers received 702 calls last year, which resulted in 53 arrests and 122 charges. The 2020 report also noted the seizure of $10,083,606 worth of drugs and $158,400 worth of recovered property -- that includes a $7.3 million dollar drug operation that was dismantled last September.
Bakker said as they mark Crime Stoppers Month, their goal is to continue relaying information to the public through various partners in order to help Chatham-Kent police with investigations.
Incoming Program Coordinator Nancy Galbraith took on her new role with Chatham-Kent Crime Stoppers on Monday. Galbraith has been with the police department for 27 years.
One thing Galbraith said she looks forward to is hopefully engaging with the public again at some point in 2021, through fundraisers and school programs.
"Hopefully this year is better than last year and we can actually do some events," said Galbraith, who added she has already started to inquire about the possibility of conducting fingerprinting workshops in schools once it is safe to do so.
For now, Galbraith said the local program will continue its work with the public and police.
Statistics provided by Chatham-Kent Crime Stoppers show 28,393 calls from its inception in 1987, with 6,571 arrests and 16,214 charges laid. The total amount of drugs seized and property recovered from inception is just over $114 million.