HARDIN – The Two Rivers Crime Stoppers organization is seeking donations from the public to continue their efforts into 2019.
Since being founded early in 2017, the group, which rewards people for anonymous tips leading to the arrests of suspects, contributed to as many as 104 arrests and two cases closed. These were a result of 140 tips. From those arrests came as much as $26,500 in controversial asset forfeitures. Those came as a result of property and cash seizures following drug arrests. More than $2,560 were approved to pay tipsters, and of that, $1,060 were claimed.
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With this good news for the organization, there is also bad news. School participation across the area is down.
“We really want to stay in the schools ad help keep our youth informed of the ad things that can happen to good people,” a representative from the organization said via their heavily-trafficked Facebook page. “If we can keep our future generations educated, then we may have a fighting chance to beat the opioid epidemic or whatever other challenges face our youth.”
Overall, however, the Two Rivers Crime Stoppers organization is growing. As many as 5,000 people follow the organization's Facebook page, which is especially impressive, given it was first conceived in April 2017.
Outside of public donations, the organization is also funded with court fees. Currently, only Calhoun County offers those, but a representative from the organization said they are hoping Jersey and Greene will join with the practice, adding they were not sure if this would happen in the near future or not.
“Without court fee and private donations, we have no organization,” the representative said via Facebook Messenger. “This is a non-for-profit organization, the only way we can operate is through court fees, donations and fundraisers. We have faith that eventually Jersey and Greene will start enforcing those fees.”
Earlier in 2018, the group hosted a fundraiser in which people bet on which square a cow would drop its manure at the Jersey County Fairgrounds just outside Jerseyville.
People wanting to give tips regarding wanted criminals sought by Two Rivers Crime Stoppers can contact them via phone at 1-800-300-2590. They can also email them using a pseudonym. Because of the requirement of anonymity, however, they can not accept and reward tips through their social media page, even through private message.
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