Capital Region Crime Stoppers hosts annual ceremony; honors law enforcement and partners

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The Capital Region Crime Stoppers has become a big key in solving crime in the Baton Rouge area.

The international nonprofit allows people to give anonymous tips that could get them a reward, and the driving factor behind Crime Stoppers is that cash reward.

The 6th Annual Crime Stoppers Luncheon was held on Friday, Nov. 4, to help raise money to keep the program running, while also honoring law enforcement.

Sid Newman is a former homicide detective who would look for new ways to bridge the gap between community members and law enforcement. He is also the man who first brought Crime Stoppers to metro Baton Rouge.

“You’d go to a crime scene, and you knew people knew who committed a crime; they were scared to death to say anything about it because they didn’t want to become the next victim,” said Newman.

Newman brought Crime Stoppers to the Capital City in 1982. In the first year, Newman says the nonprofit paid out about $11,000 in cash rewards. Today, Crime Stoppers has been known to award $11,000 in just one month.

“Without the tips, a lot of cases would go unsolved during the year, so it takes the public and the police department working together to solve crime; police can’t do it on their own,” said Jonny Dunnam, executive director for Capital Region Crime Stoppers.

Forty years later, this ceremony honors law enforcement agencies and partners for their efforts to help stop crime statewide.

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