Media Cooperation With Police: The Case of Crime Stoppers (From The Media and Criminal Justice Policy, P 225-241, 1990, Ray Surette, ed. -- See NCJ-125773)

• NCJ Number: 125787
• Author(s): P. J. Lavrakas; D. P. Rosenbaum; A. J. Lurigio
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 17 pages
• Grant Number(s): 83-IJ-CX-K050
• Sponsoring Agency: Northwestern University; National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
• Sale Source: Charles C. Thomas
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter presents select findings from the national evaluation of the Crime Stoppers program with attention to media participation and nonparticipation in the program.

Abstract

Crime Stoppers offers monetary incentives (typically ranging from $100 to $1,000) and the protection of anonymity to persons who provide information that leads to the arrest, indictment, or conviction of suspected offenders. Since its beginning in Albuquerque, N.M., in 1976, Crime Stoppers has spread across the United States with more than 70 programs operational in 1988. The study reported in this chapter used two mail surveys to determine the extent of media cooperation with the police in the Crime Stoppers program. The first survey, conducted in 1984, yielded 203 questionnaires completed by the police coordinators of local Crime Stoppers programs. The second survey produced 237 questionnaires completed by media executives. The police coordinators rated radio stations, weekly newspapers, and cable companies as more cooperative than UHF and VHF television stations and daily newspapers; however, all types of media were rated as "cooperative." There was significant variation across programs in the number of media that participated at individual program sites. Generally, the media-executive survey revealed that the print media were not as positive toward Crime Stoppers as the broadcast media. 4 tables, 6 references.