In a world-first initiative, Crime Stoppers WA is developing a specialist online form for members of the public to report suspicious and illegal drug activity.
Half of all crimes (47%) reported to Crime Stoppers are about illegal drugs, and so we have been developing the special online report form to help tackle this major problem. Once finalised, the new form will be conveniently located in our website, www.crimestopperswa.com.au, and will enable people to complete details faster and more easily.
Helpful questions in the form will enable members of the community to provide better information that will improve the quality of intelligence for police investigators to use for solving drug-related crime. This should help in turn to reduce other crimes such as stealing, burglary and car theft because they are often used to fund drug activity.
The current form includes questions which apply to many different crime types, so this drug-specific form will save people time by only asking questions about drug related activity. People can still easily make contact about other types of crime in the general report form.
Clearly marked sections will allow people to easily view and edit their responses. They will be able to access the form on any mobile device, and attach photos, enabling them to instantly report from anywhere with an internet connection.
Call takers in the Crime Stoppers call centre have provided valuable feedback from their frontline experience in dealing with the public. This will help to ensure the report form will lead to the best possible action and evidence to take drug dealers off the streets.
This initiative has been possible with funding support from the WA Government through the Proceeds of Crime Act.