78 Crime Stoppers – the unseen fighters of crime

A local group in Yuma is helping take criminals off the streets.

Made up of all volunteers, the 78 Crime Stoppers board in Yuma are the unseen fighters of crime.

Seven community members consisting of several retired law enforcement and other day jobs, meet the second Tuesday of every month at the Yuma Police Department to discuss that month’s cases.

Led by YPD’s Sergeant Lori Franklin, the group determines the reward for anonymous tips that are brought in by the community.

But, how does that system work, and is it really anonymous?

And most often asked, can I really get a financial reward and for how much?

A phone line…in the YPD building shows no caller ID and no name attached.

This is the line that takes anonymous tip calls from Yumans regarding a crime.

The records worker at YPD takes down the tip and gives the caller a 4 digit number which is how the person is identified.

The records worker will then contact the correct authorities.

If within city limits, the crime will be dispatched to an officer at YPD, if in Yuma County, the case will be dispatched otherwise.

If the case is already done and the case brings in a lead on a suspect, the tip will go to the assigned detective.

If an arrest is made on the tip, and the tip led to it, that’s where a reward is considered.

When it comes to confirmation of the tips leading to an arrest, Franklin said it is on the anonymous caller to alert YPD that their tip may have led to an arrest.

“I don’t go through every one of these and check to see if an arrest has been made, that’s for the person to call back in and say ‘an arrest has been made’, or has an arrest been made,” said Franklin.

Franklin will then collect the caller’s 4 digit number and reference if an arrest has in fact been made.

If it was, the case will be presented to the 78 crime stoppers board.

During the meeting, Franklin presents the information to the board and determines the financial reward based on the severity of the crime, how many crimes the tip solved, the number of items recovered and more.

“The reward is up to a $ 1,000 reward, so you have a homicide, that’s like automatic, and as it goes down further, the less amount of money goes out, but still something is given,” Franklin said.

The next day, Franklin gives the crime stopper number and amount to the bank and the reward is given.

All financial rewards are collected thanks to the work of the crime stoppers board.

“They try very hard to raise money but they are kind of one of those forgotten charity type deals, everybody knows about bigger charities within Yuma but 78-Crime kind of falls through the cracks,” Franklin said.

She said without them and the rewards they provide, a lot of crimes wouldn’t be solved.

Franklin said that sources such as Yuma’s Most Wanted that has been presented on different platforms, has helped anonymous tips come in more often.

If you have the desire to help the community be a safer place, you can attend the next 78 crime stopper meeting in January, or contact YPD for more information.