Toronto Crime Stoppers may have decided to stop handing out rewards for tips, but the Halton chapter says it won’t be following that example anytime soon.

Colin Jessome, executive director of the Halton chapter of the crime-prevention charity, confirmed on Jan. 10, that Halton Crime Stoppers would continue to offer rewards for tips that lead to arrests.

That said, Jessome noted he would be keeping an eye on Toronto Crime Stoppers to see how their decision plays out.

“We’ll see how they fare for the next year to two years. I think it will take that long to realize if the tips are increasing or decreasing, not only in volume but in quality,” he said.

“I can’t wait to see what happens. If people are stepping up the same as they are now, more so or less.”

Toronto Crime Stoppers Chair Sean Sportun announced Jan. 6 that, effective immediately, there would be no more cash rewards for tips in Toronto.

That charity has now adopted the slogan, “Doing what’s right is its own reward. Crime doesn’t pay. Neither do we.”

Sportun has said the money previously used to pay rewards will now be used to support communities in need.

Jessome said the move by Toronto Crime Stoppers caught him by surprise, noting he found out about it at the same time as everyone else.

While Jessome says he is skeptical at the moment that Toronto will succeed using this strategy, he acknowledged that, for many, a reward is not what motivates them to come forward and report a crime.

“Our board of directors approved $10,050, in 2019, in total for rewards, and only $1,900 was actually claimed,” said Jessome.

“So, 35 rewards were granted throughout the year, and only six of those were collected. That’s about 17 per cent.”

People who do not call Crime Stoppers for the reward appear to have a number of possible motivators.

Jessome said some callers let it slip that they are a neighbour of the person they are reporting on.

He suspects a few others may be drug dealers themselves who are calling Crime Stoppers to get rid of their competition.

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The majority of callers keep their motivations for reporting a crime to themselves and while many choose not to take the reward that’s offered, Jessome says that’s not a reason to remove that option.

“There are people who do collect those rewards and those were some good cases that got closed because of those rewards and tips,” he said.

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“They are taking a bold move, Toronto is, because anybody who would have given a tip based on a reward just won’t give a tip.”

Jessome noted the Crime Stoppers experience in Canada is radically different from America, where 80 per cent of the tipsters offered a reward do collect.

Anyone who wants to report a crime anonymously in Halton can do so by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by visiting haltoncrimestoppers.ca.