The well known mantra “if you see something, say something” is paying off, as Crime Stoppers Barbados has reported a significant number of tips received so far this year.
Programme director Kristen Deukett said that for the first two months of 2025 there were already 24 tips received, which she described as “unusual”.
Deukett said some people preferred to send tips through the hotline rather than using the organisation’s P3Tips App. However, she said that has changed over time.
The P3Tips App was launched about five years ago and is one of the ways individuals can report on any crime. The app, when downloaded, also allows individuals to submit photos and audio as evidence.
“We have been noticing that Barbadians preferred to call the hotline rather than submit a tip through the tip form. Interestingly, when we did some analysis on the tips for last year, we recognised that this completely shifted. They were submitting tips using our website, which has a submit a tip function, which directs you to the tip form,” she said.
Gun and drug crimes were some of the primary offences reported. In 2023, there were 56 actionable tips, which led to one arrest and four cases cleared for narcotics. Last year, a total of 2.26 kilogrammes of marijuana was seized and there were 26 active investigations as a result. Additionally, one firearm was seized.
Deukett said none of the tipsters accepted any monetary award for their information, even though it was an option available from the organisation. Depending on the quality of the tip and its usefulness to the police, the payment
typically ranged from $50 to $100.
She said the attitude of the public toward Crime Stoppers Barbados was “nothing but positive and they looked forward to improving their community presence”.
“We’re going through a rebirth right now since the pandemic, but operations were still running. We are noticing that a lot of people remember Crime Stoppers and they’re actually very happy that they’re seeing us again.
“The feedback that we’re getting a lot of is ‘You need to get yourself out there more’. So that’s something that we’ve been working on with some partners so that we can get ourselves back out there,” she said.
For anyone worried about their identity being at risk when making tips on any of the platforms, Deukett gave the assurance that their Caller ID or any personal information was not being tracked.
“If you’re calling the hotline number, your caller ID is not being picked up because that number already has ingrained to be able to remove any sort of identifiable number associated with you.
“The call goes to the call centre in Toronto and that operator transcribes the call based off of whatever information you provide. That gets put into the software that we use to process the various tips, which are sent to the Barbados Police Service,” she said.
In 2023, a total of 273 tips were received, but last year saw a decrease, with only 234 recorded. (AJ)
