The Jacksonville/Onslow County Crime Stoppers program was established in Onslow County on April 1, 2000. Crime Stoppers, an internationally-recognized program created during the 1970’s to support local law enforcement, is a community based organization built upon a threefold partnership between law enforcement agencies, the media, and private citizens. Historically, these programs have proven to be extremely cost effective weapons in the arsenal against crime by maintaining a 90% conviction rate from leads received.
The Crime Stoppers program within Onslow County (including Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River) functions by publicizing facts regarding unsolved crimes in the local media and requesting that citizens with any information about those crimes (or any other crime) call our 24-hour hotline number, 910.938.3273. The caller is provided with a guarantee of anonymity and an incentive for cash rewards up to $2,500 (raised from $1,000 in March 2005) if the information leads to an arrest or apprehension.
The program is organized and managed by a civilian Board of Directors who are recruited from all segments of our community. The primary functions of the Board are to determine which crimes should be publicized, set the amount for any rewards, and oversee the overall promotion and function of the program.
In August 2000, a Campus Crime Stoppers program was introduced into the middle and high schools within the Onslow County Schools system. The Campus Crime Stoppers program mirrors that of the adult program with the exception that it is featured as an augment to the County-wide Safe Schools project, and that students can also receive assistance regarding the program from their individual School Resource Officers (SROs). During December 2000, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River, along with their Department Of Defense schools, accepted partnership with Crime Stoppers. The end result became one unified program now capable of receiving and processing tips and information on crimes anywhere in the Onslow County area, including all municipalities, schools, and the Marine Corps Installations.
During 2003, Crime Stoppers initiated a college scholarship program in area high schools, (named in honor of the late Johnathon Fulcher), and also instituted Achievement Awards for distinguished graduates from Coastal Carolina’s Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) courses. Most recently, during the summer of 2008, a Campus Crime Stoppers program was initiated at Coastal Carolina Community College, a first for a college in the southeastern United States.
Since the program’s inception in 2000, Jacksonville/Onslow County Crime Stoppers has received more than 2,800 tips resulting in over 375 arrests or apprehensions. As partial testament to its strength and viability, during 2006 and again in 2010, the local program was selected by the North Carolina Crime Stoppers Association as the board program of the year from among the state’s other 85 active programs.