Pubdate: Wed, 28 Feb 2007
Source: Herald Times Reporter (Manitowoc, WI)
Copyright: 2007 Herald Times Reporter
Contact: http://www.htrnews.com/contact/forms/editor-letter.shtml
Website: http://www.htrnews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1293

DONATIONS BOOST THE WAR ON DRUGS

The recent donation of $30,000 to Crime Stoppers will put more eyes 
on drug dealers in Sheboygan County.

The money comes from a businessperson in Sheboygan County who wishes 
to remain anonymous, according to Lt. James Veeser of the Sheboygan 
Police Department. The donor indicated that the money should be used 
to reward those who offer information on drug dealers in Sheboygan County.

Crime Stoppers is also getting more help form Lamar Outdoor 
Advertising, which said it would donate space on five billboards 
around the county and print up posters to advertise Crime Stoppers 
and its toll-free number. Lamar said it will charge only a nominal 
cost for production work.

Crime Stoppers is countywide tip line that people can call with 
information to help law enforcement solve crimes of all kinds. 
Callers remain anonymous and are eligible for monetary rewards. Since 
it was started in 1999, Crime Stoppers has received 225 tips and paid 
out about $5,000 in cash, according to Penny Weber, treasurer for the 
organization.

And, it's not just the money.

Many of those who have called Crime Stoppers over the years have 
refused to take the cash. This shows that they are mainly interested 
in doing their best to get criminals off the streets.

Crime Stoppers is truly a grassroots organization. The group's board 
of directors is made up of ordinary citizens and it determines the 
amount of reward payment based on the value of information. Crime 
Stoppers operates solely on donations and fundraisers and uses no 
money from government sources.

These most recent civic-minded donations come at a time of a growing 
drug problem in Sheboygan County.

And, it's not just the sale of drugs such as crack cocaine and 
marijuana that plagues Sheboygan County. It's also the manufacture of 
methamphetamine, as evidenced by the raids on several home labs in 
the county over the last couple of years.

While law enforcement continues to do an outstanding job of 
investigating crime in Sheboygan County, this additional money to 
reward tipsters should get them more information to work with in the 
continuing battle.

And, Crime Stoppers isn't snitching. Think of it as a neighborhood 
watch program that is communitywide. It's a bit like the highly 
successful efforts of Neighbors Against Drugs, which uses public 
scrutiny and pressure on drug dealers to force them out of the 
targeted neighborhood. The last thing drug dealers want is a lot of 
good people willing to stand up against them and willing to help law 
enforcement.

We hope that the $30,000 investment made by the anonymous donor and 
that of Lamar Outdoor Advertising will result in a flood of 
information on drug dealers.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman