History
Crime Stoppers began in Albuquerque, New Mexico in July 1976 after Michael Carmen, a university student working the night shift at a local gas station was shot and killed by two robbers. After several weeks the police had no information or leads, out of desperation Detective Greg MacAleese who was assigned to the case approached a local television station requesting the airing of a video that re-enacted of the crime.
When the video was shown on TV a financial reward for information leading to the arrest of the killers was offered. Within hours of the broadcast, someone called in with valuable information. The video had triggered the memory of a person who remembered that on the night of the murder he had heard a loud bang in the vicinity of the gas station and came out to investigate and saw a car driving off at high speed. He told MacAleese the vehicle belonged to a resident in a nearby apartment complex.
Out of this idea Crime Stoppers was born. Since its first chapter was officially formed in Albuquerque in 1976 Crime Stoppers programmes around the world have grown rapidly with programmes now implemented in more than 1,200 communities around the world. The Bahamas chapter was started in 2001. Today Crime Stoppers worldwide has been responsible for more than 300,000 arrests and the recovery of more than US$6 billion in drugs and personal property.
