Make a Tip
Call (202) 727-9099 or text your tip to 50411. Just tell the call-taker you would like to make a tip through Crime Solvers.
What is Crime Solvers?
Crime Solvers involves a three-pronged attack against crime using the police, the civic and business communities, and the news media. The program publicizes unsolved crimes and wanted suspects and offers an anonymous, toll-free telephone number for individuals to provide the police information about those crimes in exchange for cash rewards.
The DC Crime Solvers program is part of the National Capital Area Crime Solvers. The NCACS includes police departments in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.
History of the Program
Crimes Solvers (also known as Crime Stoppers in some jurisdictions) initially began in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since its national launch in 1976, the program operates in more than 1,000 jurisdictions in the United States, Canada, and various other countries throughout the world. Crime Solvers of Washington, DC, has been in operation since 1981.
How the Program Works
Crime Solvers is a cost-effective investigative aid that opens lines of communication between the community and law enforcement. Various news agencies highlight a "crime of the week," detailing the facts of the case and possibly simulating a re-enactment of the crime for television. Local television and radio stations, as well as newspapers, either broadcast the crime of the week or promote the Crime Solvers program. The crime of the week case is selected from several unsolved felonies by a unit of the Metropolitan Police Department; the criteria for selecting a case are determined by the MPDC. In addition, information about wanted suspects and unsolved crimes is posted on the Police Department's website.
Persons with knowledge of an unsolved crime are encouraged to contact the police on a special toll-free Crime Solvers Confidential Telephone Hotline: 1-800-673-2777. Callers need not identify themselves. Information that leads to an arrest and indictment in a case may result in a reward of up to $1,000. The Crime Solvers confidential telephone is located within the MPDC and is staffed 24 hours a day by Police Department personnel. When a call is received, the caller is assigned an identification number and the information is documented on a police form. The caller is advised to check back with the Crime Solvers Unit on a scheduled basis to determine eligibility for a reward, which is contingent upon the completion of an investigation. Once the information has been documented, a copy of the information form is routed to the appropriate unit within the Police Department for investigation.
If the information supplied by the caller results in the arrest of a suspect and a subsequent indictment, the unit handling the investigation completes a special police form indicating these results and forwards it to the program's liaison officer. The liaison officer then contacts the Board of Directors of the Crime Solvers Committee, indicates that a tip has proven fruitful, and presents the facts of the case to committee members. The Crime Solvers Committee reviews the information and determines the amount, if any, to be awarded. The liaison officer then advises the caller of the results of the review by the Crime Solvers Committee.
The liaison officer advises the caller and verifies the caller's identification number and information to confirm that it is the proper caller in a particular case. Once verification has been made, the officer advises the caller of a specific time and location where he or she is to meet with a member of the Crime Solvers Committee to receive the reward.
The Crime Solvers Committee
The Crime Solvers Committee is an essential element of a successful Crime Solvers program. The committee, which meets once a month, is composed of respected civic and business leaders who volunteer their time, skills, and services. The committee solicits funds to be used as rewards, since no government or police funds are involved (contributions are tax deductible). The committee also formulates and handles administrative procedures, determines reward expenditures, keeps abreast of ongoing criminal investigations pertaining to Crime Solvers, and generally works closely with the Metropolitan Police Department.
The Crime Solvers Committee includes approximately 30 members. The members must be dedicated and possess various skills and abilities that contribute to the success of the Crime Solvers program.
What Crime Solvers Accomplishes
Crime Solvers provides a channel through which ordinary citizens can come forward with information concerning serious crimes and dangerous criminals while remaining anonymous. Investigators utilize this information to solve crimes and make arrests of dangerous felons. The Crime Solvers program allows you, the citizen, a chance to take an active part in fighting crime. It helps safeguard all the people by putting criminals behind bars. Since its inception, Crime Solvers of Washington, DC, has directly contributed the arrests of more than 700 felons and the recovery of tens of million of dollars worth of stolen property and illegal drugs.
You Make the Difference
Whether you are a member of the civic and business community, the news media, or the community at large, you play an essential part in the success of Crime Solvers. Your support and cooperation are vital to fighting crime. Your donations to the program keep it going. Without you, Crime Solvers would not work. Because of you, Crime Solvers is helping to remove dangerous criminals from our streets and protect our property and loved ones.