Over $24K recovered in 2004

Over $24,000 in property and narcotics were recovered through anonymous tips given to the NMI Crime Stoppers program last year, according to program treasurer Rodney Klinge.

Klinge disclosed in an interview yesterday that tips through the program enabled law enforcement to recover about $17,800 in narcotics and $6,400 in property.

Tips also resulted in 14 cases being cleared, as well as the arrest of nine individuals for various crimes.

Klinge said some individuals were involved in more than one case.

The program also distributed about $1,800 in rewards for the anonymous tips that led to an arrest.

Since its inception on April 18, 1989, the program has received tips that resulted in 210 cases being cleared, two being homicide cases. A total of 167 arrests were made, and about $10,150 have been paid out as rewards.

Also, a total of $2,581,778 in narcotics and property have been recovered. Statistics indicate that about $2,383,985 in narcotics and $197,793 in property have been recovered.

Klinge said the addition of several new features to the program’s tips intake process is already having a significant impact.

“Normally we get four to five tips per month, now it’s double,” he said, adding that since the inception of the new features, about 10 tips are being received already. “Tips are already increasing and several cases are being worked on.”

Among the new additions is a feature that enables callers to provide tips in over 150 languages when calling the program’s tips line.

The feature is made possible by utilizing the Language Line Services, a translation service located in Monterey, California.

“Calls are first answered by the Alternative Answers in Bolton, Ontario, Canada,” said Crime Stoppers chair Jim Arenovski. “Once they recognize that the call is a foreign language call, they set up a three-way conference call between the caller in the CNMI, Alternative Answers in Canada, and Language Line Services in Monterey, California.”

He said the information from the caller is translated into an English document that Alternative Answers forwards to Crime Stoppers.

Arenovski said the caller, whether from Saipan, Tinian, or Rota, is not charged when using the feature.

Alternative Answers is another feature, ensuring that all calls are answered instead of being answered by a recording message.

Another new feature is that tipsters may submit information through the Crime Stoppers website. The feature makes it possible for anyone with Internet access to submit anonymous tips online, and photos may also attached to the tip.

“It is not possible for someone to locate the origin of the anonymous tip or to in any way identify the sender. Neither the device nor the sender can be determined or identified,” the program said.

Anyone with information about any crime is urged to call the Crime Stoppers tips line at 234-7272, or *11 from any Verizon Cellular phone (toll free from Tinian and Rota). Information may also be submitted through its website at www.nmicrimestoppers.com.

Crime Stoppers pay up to $1,000 cash for information leading to an arrest. All tips remain anonymous and caller ID is not used.