Orange County Crime Stoppers needs your help and support. Will you make a tax deductible donation or join the board of directors?
The Orange County Crime Stoppers program (OC Crime Stoppers) helps resolve, reduce and prevent crime by enabling citizens to safely report criminal activity to law enforcement through anonymous crime tips. Established by Founder/CEO Patricia Wenskunas, OC Crime Stoppers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that works in partnership with the community, the media, and law enforcement to facilitate the sharing of valuable information.
There are more than 300 Crime Stoppers organizations in the United States and over 1,400 worldwide. This program has proven to be an asset to any community, with over eight hundred and fifty thousand arrests made, over one point two million crimes cleared, and eight billion dollars in property and drugs recovered in the last 33 years.
The establishment of a new Orange County based program seeks to provide the Orange County Area with the tools to empower ordinary citizens to fight crime. All of the City Chiefs of Police and Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens have supported the launch of this program. Daily operations are governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and law enforcement liaisons committed to supporting OC Crime Stoppers. Although the Orange County’s Sheriff’s Department is the lead coordinating agency for this program, this is a shared county wide effort.
OC Crime Stoppers provides citizens with the ability to report tip information via web, text, and or toll free number. Every web and text tip is assigned its own encrypted code. This code provides the ability for a 2 way SMS dialog with OC Crime Stoppers. It’s a tipster’s choice on whether they chose to respond to any further questions and they can “delete thread” at any time. There is no way to obtain identifying information through this code. For further information regarding the program, to submit a web tip, and or find out how to get involved- go to www.occrimestoppers.org. Any additional questions regarding operations and getting involved, contact Aaron Berenschot, the OCCS Coordinator at occrimestoppers@ocsd.org .
To text a tip, dial C-R-I-M-E-S (274637). Start with key word OCCS, a space, and then the tip information. A reply text is immediately sent, providing the encrypted code. To submit a tip via toll free number, call 855-TIP-OCCS (847-6227). This number is answered 24/7 by an independent call center on an unrecorded line.
The Crime Stoppers program has more than proven itself in cities, states, and countries across the world. With the citizens of Orange County and Law Enforcement’s help, OC Crime Stoppers will no doubt do the same