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HISTORY OF MIRAMICHI
CRIME STOPPERS 21 years of helping solve crimes
in Miramichi
On March 11, 1987, an organizational meeting was held at the Town Hall in Newcastle, N.B. Thirty community members and
three police coordinators attended the meeting. The first meeting of the Miramichi Crime Stoppers was held March 30, 1987.
The executive consisted of President, Steve Lowery; Treasurer, Harold Parlee; and Secretary, David Foley. Nineteen board members
were present.
In 1989, in response to public demand, the Miramichi Crime Stoppers established a "Special Appeals Fund" in light of recent
violent crimes on the Miramichi. A goal of $25,000 was set on October 18, 1989.
Through tremendous response from local
businesses, unions, and the public, the sum of $78,000 was raised in less than a month for the special fund.
On November
16, 1989, a motion was passed at a board meeting to offer a $25,000 award for the capture of Allan Legere. Later this amount was increased to $50,000.
The highlight for Miramichi Crime Stoppers came when awards in excess
of $50,000 were paid for the recapture of Allan Legere. It was information from tipsters that led to solving the most
serious and violent crime spree on the Miramichi. This award was one of the largest amounts awarded by a Crime Stoppers Board
in New Brunswick.
| "Working Together to Solve Crime in Miramichi" |

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| Board of Directors - March 3, 2005 |
Miramichi Crime Stoppers is a chapter of N.B. Crime Stoppers, Inc. and serves the areas covered by District 6 Miramichi RCMP (Sunny Corner-Blackville) and Miramichi Police Force (City of Miramichi).
Crime Stoppers is managed by a civilian board of directors who establish policy, raise funds to operate the program,
and authorize award payments.
Today, two of the original members of Miramichi Crime Stoppers remain actively involved in the Board. Harold Parlee still
remains as treasurer and Agnes Keoughan-Lynch is involved in fundraising.
The present Miramichi Crime
Stoppers Board includes, President Stephen MacDougald; Vice-President Mark LeBelle; Treasurer Harold Parlee; Secretary
Marion Burtt; S. Cowan; A. Johnstone; B. Johnstone; A. Keoughan-Lynch; V. Krezel; Q. MacDougald; C. Schriver; and
police coordinators representing the Miramichi Police Force - Constable Shane Henderson; Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Sunny Corner-Blackville (District #6) - Constable Richard Girouard; and Department of Natural Resources (DNR Region 2) - Forest Ranger Colin Harding.
Crime Stoppers continues to help solve crimes in
the local area and solicits support from the community.
One Officer’s Vision: How the Crime Stoppers
concept began
Crime
Stoppers was the idea of a man named Greg MacAleese, a police officer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. After helplessly watching Albuquerque’s
rising crime rate and seeing the public’s fear of the criminal element, he felt something had to be done to change people’s
attitudes towards getting involved. MacAleese knew that for just about every crime, someone other than the offender knew about
it and could help police solve the case. The challenge was to get the right information from the right person at the right
time. MacAleese understood the importance of citizen involvement. The only question seemed to be, “How do you motivate people to get involved?”
His idea took a two-pronged approach:
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To overcome apathy (indifference), cash awards must be offered
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To overcome people’s fear of criminal retaliation, or just fear
of involvement, it would be necessary to offer anonymity.
Discussions
with the Albuquerque Police Department indicated that award money should come from the general public instead of through tax
dollars (to this day, Crime Stoppers is a civilian-run organization; there is no government intervention at all). It was suggested
that a civilian Board of Directors be created to lend integrity to the program. It was also decided that awards would only
be paid after information received by Crime Stoppers had produced a tangible result.
Crime
Stoppers pays awards based on arrest (not conviction) of the person responsible for a particular crime. This speeds up payment
of awards to tipsters and assures that police forces are well on their way to achieving a successful solution to the crime.
Crime Stoppers proves successful
The
first call on September 8, 1976, quickly turned doubters into believers.
Other
communities, hearing of Albuquerque’s success, soon
adopted the Crime Stoppers concept. They quickly learned that the program could also be effective for them. The first Canadian
Crime Stoppers program was established in Calgary, Alberta
in 1982.
The Crime Stoppers program is a three-way partnership involving private citizens, the media, and the police community.
Getting people to care is what Crime Stoppers is all about.
Since 1976, more than 950 Crime Stoppers programs have
been established worldwide. More than 1.1 million crimes have been solved since its inception, and over $8.5
billion worth of stolen property and narcotics have been seized.
Province just got a little safer: Crime Stoppers
comes to New Brunswick
In
February 1985, a motion was passed at a meeting of the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police that called for the implementation
of a Crime Stoppers program in central New Brunswick. With
the approval of the provincial Attorney-General, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police set up a mini-task force, comprised of
two RCMP officers and one Fredericton City Police officer.
These people began studying the Crime Stoppers program as a whole and went on to establish
chapters in the Woodstock, Fredericton, Oromocto, Minto, and
Chipman areas of New Brunswick. Several private citizens
throughout the province volunteered to help and they became part of an organization that would later be
known as N.B. Crime Stoppers Inc./ Échec au crime N.-B. Inc.
Four
local/regional Boards (chapters) were formed. While staying independent, they would remain under the umbrella of the parent
organization, N.B. Crime Stoppers. These four boards were:
Western
N.B. Crime Stoppers; Capital Region Crime Stoppers; Oromocto Crime Stoppers (later renamed Oromocto-Gagetown); and Grand Lake
Area Crime Stoppers. In the past 20 years, the program has grown to encompass all of New
Brunswick. As of 2005, 21 local/regional Chapters make up N.B. Crime Stoppers Inc., with approximately
300 volunteers. Many of these people have been members since the program’s inception in 1985.
N.B. Crime Stoppers: Behind the yellow tape
Each
Chapter has its own civilian Board of Directors and law enforcement coordinators from each local police force and/or RCMP
Detachment, as well as representatives from Department of Natural Resources.
The
provincial Board (N.B. Crime Stoppers, Inc.) has the services of its own police coordinator. The provincial coordinator is
the liaison between New Brunswick’s police community
and N.B. Crime Stoppers Inc., as well as the media.
All
TIPS are received at the Police Coordinator’s Office at 1-800-222-8477. Calls are never recorded or traced – that
is Crime Stoppers’ guarantee! Anonymity remains the single, most important reason why people call Crime Stoppers. Many
callers are not interested in a cash award; however, the funds are available for those who wish to receive one.
Four
times a year, the 21 local boards (and their coordinators) meet with the parent board for a provincial meeting. Problems,
new ideas, correspondence, etc. are discussed quarterly. At an annual meeting, members of N.B. Crime Stoppers examine the
program’s operations during the past year.
Board
membership is a commitment of far more than just time. Members must give of their energy, talents, and creativity. Crime Stoppers
is a non-profit organization: board members are not paid. Their hard work reflects a belief in the philosophy of the
program: helping solve crimes and a desire to see justice done.

The
mission statement of Crime Stoppers is to help police solve crime by providing them with information about crimes
for which they would not otherwise have access. The program works on the assumption that for almost every crime, someone other
than the offender knows about it and that their information, if known by the police, would help to solve the case.
To get these
people involved, and to overcome apathy and indifference, cash awards are offered. To overcome people’s fear of retaliation,
or fear of involvement, we offer anonymity.
Crime Stoppers
collects this information on criminal activity by a guarantee of anonymity, and a cash award. The information
is then passed on to law enforcement for investigation.
Our mission
is to develop Crime Stoppers as an effective crime solving organization throughout New Brunswick, with the primary objective
of this tri-partite organization (the community, the media, and law enforcement) being, “working
together to solve crime”.
N.B. Crime Stoppers is a member in good-standing of Crime Stoppers International, Inc.

©2008 Crime Stoppers International. All Rights Reserved.
Message from Miramichi Crime Stoppers President:
This year marks Miramichi Crime Stoppers’ 20th anniversary serving the communities of Miramichi, Blackville,
Sunny Corner, Red Bank and surrounding areas. The local chapter has had a successful year with numerous projects and initiatives,
as well as several fundraisers held by the membership, thus assuring funds would be available for awards to tipsters. This
past year, the Miramichi Chapter has recommended several awards, due to the increasing number of credible tips being received
at the Crime Stoppers office from the Miramichi region. In addition, new re-enactments of unsolved crimes were featured on
Global Television’s ‘Crime of the Week’ segment during the spring months.
Miramichi has been selected as host for the 2007 N.B. Crime Stoppers Annual Training Conference in October. The three-day
event will see approximately 200 Crime Stoppers volunteers from around the province convergence on the mystical Miramichi.
The conference will also feature some high-profile guest speakers within the criminal justice field.
The Miramichi Chapter was all aboard in September as they hosted the 4th Annual Model Train Show at the Northumberland
Square Mall. The show, which continues to grow every year, featured 30 displays with eight operating layouts. A railroading
merchandise and display table and a special appearance by Mr. Tips the Raccoon made the event fun for the entire family. The
Miramichi’s Model Train Show has become a must-attend event for several train enthusiasts in the Maritimes.
Since launching in 2005, Miramichi Crime Stoppers’ website, aimed at community awareness, and local fundraising
for the program, continues to garner tremendous support from the community - an average of 35 unique visitors check out the
site per day. The website compliments the existing provincial site with local news and upcoming events, detailed information
on how to place a call to Crime Stoppers, safety advice from various jurisdictions, and a list of unsolved crimes within the
Miramichi Region that require public assistance. Visitors can now view actual surveillance footage of several unsolved crimes
that are featured. The site can be viewed at http://www.solvecrimes.org.
The present Miramichi Crime Stoppers Board includes, President Stephen MacDougald; Vice-President Mark LeBelle; Treasurer
Harold Parlee; Secretary Marion Burtt; S. Cowan; A. Johnstone; B. Johnstone; A. Keoughan-Lynch; V. Krezel; Q. MacDougald;
C. Schriver; and police coordinators representing the Miramichi Police Force - Constable Shane Henderson; Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Sunny Corner-Blackville (District #6) - Constable Richard Girouard; and Department of Natural Resources (DNR Region 2) - Forest Ranger Colin Harding.
Miramichi Crime Stoppers is committed to helping solve crimes and making the community a safer place to live through
the collaboration of the community, the media, and law enforcement. Our board continues to assist
law enforcement agencies in their endeavour to reduce crime in our communities and solicits the public’s support. Remember
– everyone benefits, except the criminal!
Stephen MacDougald, [E-mail Mr. MacDougald] Chapter President Miramichi Crime Stoppers
Miramichi Crime Stoppers congratulates out-going DNR
representative (05/03/03)
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| President Stephen MacDougald and Mike J. Fletcher |
Miramichi Crime Stoppers President,
Stephen MacDougald congratulates Mike J. Fletcher on his retirement from the Department of Natural Resources. Mr.
Fletcher was the DNR representative with Miramichi Crime Stoppers from 1996 - 2005. A certificate was given to Mr. Fletcher
during his final meeting on March 3, 2005 for his dedication and continuous support of the Crime Stoppers program. The local
chapter will welcome Michael Cain as the new DNR representative effective April 2005.

Message from N.B. Crime Stoppers, Inc. President:
This year
marks N.B. Crime Stoppers’ 22nd anniversary. Like any other similar organization, we have had many good moments. However,
we are still facing important challenges ahead. One of those remains our limited resources to raise funds to support the program,
which allows us to get information from the public in areas of unsolved crimes. It is that information from the general public
which allows law enforcement agencies to make our communities safer places.
Who would have
said 22 years ago that this program, created with public, media, and law enforcement support, would help resolve over 6,800
crimes; to lay over 7,800 charges, not to mention, recovery of over $6.8 million
in stolen goods; over $46 million in drug seizures; over $2 million in fraud seizures; and more than $13 million recovered
in arson cases. Who would have believed that our volunteers would pay more than $584,000 in cash awards?
As you can see,
our volunteers are proud to have contributed to such a success, and we are pleased to extend an invitation to you to celebrate
with us as members of the community, partners, media, and all of those who have used the Crime Stoppers’ TIPS Line 1-800-222-TIPS
(8477) to provide information regarding a crime.
For that support,
we say Thank You!
Ron Godin, President N.B. Crime Stoppers
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