The 0800 freephone crime reporting line charity Crimestoppers has vowed to break down the barriers in what it termed hard to reach communities. At its national conference in York, Crimestoppers staff and volunteers were joined by police from across the country, and partners. The annual conference was also to recognise the achievements of the charity, ands outline its plans.
Speakers included Chief Constable for Humberside Police, Justine Curran, who encouraged those in the room to “go make a difference,” as she backed Crimestoppers’ work to target hard to reach areas. Other speakers included Stephen Bell, from the College of Policing, rural crime author Mike Pannett and the Gangmasters’ Licensing Authority Chief Executive Paul Broadbent.
Crimestoppers says that it continues to work with fellow charities looking to raise awareness of certain crime types, and hence welcomed Women’s Aid to the event to speak about domestic violence and the isolation victims feel when being abused by their partner. Two women are killed every week as a result of domestic abuse from their partner.
The day was closed by Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside, Matthew Grove, who described the work of Crimestoppers as ‘integral’ in his area, and encouraged the public to do the right thing by reporting crime to Crimestoppers.
Roger Critchell, Director of Operations for Crimestoppers, said: “The annual conference is an opportunity for law enforcement to hear of our achievements and our plans moving forward in the fight against crime. We are determined to break down the barriers that exist in hard to reach communities and tackle the crimes that affect people across the UK. Using our anonymous service, we know we have the mechanism to protect the identity of those that contact us, we just need them to pick up the phone or log onto our website.”
If you have any information on a crime you can ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or use the – also anonymous – online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
