Solving Crime Can Be A Community Effort

When residents have information about a crime, many turn to the Polk County Crime Stoppers to discretely tip off law enforcement and collect rewards if their information leads to an arrest.

“We’re that avenue that can collect information (police) would otherwise not get,” said Greg Willey, a board member since 2003 and a resident of Ankeny.

Tipsters can call Polk County Crime Stoppers at 223-1400. When they do, they are assigned a number that they can later use to claim a reward if their information leads to an arrest. Calls are taken on a private line at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office dedicated for Crime Stopper tips, which are passed to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

Since 2000, the organization which serves Polk County and Des Moines, has received more than 4,000 tips and paid tipsters more than $118,000, Willey said. In 2010, tipsters called 822 times, leading authorities to 46 arrests. Crime Stoppers provided $8,830 for 40 rewards relating to these arrests, according to a report from Willey. The total number of calls from 2000 to 2004 ranged from 357 to 428, with the number of rewards paid ranging from 25 to 46.

Lt. Makai Echer said Ankeny police have charged people for misdemeanors through Polk County Crime Stoppers.

“It offers the public the option to report a crime anonymously,” Echer said. “They can report anything.”

After an arrest based on a tip, the officer on the case makes a recommendation on how much the tipster should receive. This amount is then reviewed by the Polk County Crime Stoppers board for approval. After calling back after the arrest, tipsters are able to pick up their reward at a specific bank by giving their assigned number.

For most crimes, Polk County Crime Stoppers offers up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest, but people have contributed funds to supplement the reward in some cases.

Realtor Ashley Okland was found April 8, 2011, in a West Des Moines model home. She had been shot twice and later died from her injuries, according to a police press release. By April 13, contributions had increased the reward from $1,000 to $27,300, making it the highest reward Polk County Crime Stoppers has offered.

In mid-May the reward was increased to $75,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case. The previous highest reward offered was $25,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction for the murder of Robert “Corey” Poffenberger, who was killed Oct. 24, 2003, in the driveway of his Des Moines home.

The Okland and Poffenberger cases have not been solved.

Polk County Crime Stoppers is a nonprofit incorporated in 1981, according to information available at the Iowa Secretary of State’s website. It is a member of Crime Stoppers International, which started as a way to collect tips to solve the murder of a college student in 1976.

Polk County Crime Stoppers also sponsors Metro’s Most Wanted, a web site and weekly show that highlights local fugitives, by providing rewards when tips lead to arrests.

In addition to calling in tips, people can also send tips via the Polk County Crime Stoppers web site at www.polkcountycrimestoppers.org or text the tip to CRIME (27463).