Haywood County Crime Stoppers was formed by members of the local law enforcement agencies and the school system of Haywood County.  We are currently in the developmental stages of the program and hope to add civilian members to our board of directors in the near future.  Soon we will be launching a "Campus Crime Stoppers" chapter of the program in our school system as well.

Our mission is consistent with and true to the philosophy of all Crime Stoppers programs.  Our goal is to optimize the efficiency of our crime fighting efforts here in Haywood County by utilizing the eyes, ears, and senses of the public.  Let's face it, 50,000 pairs of eyes and ears are far superior to the nearly 100 pairs of eyes and ears of the local law enforcment officers presently serving Haywood County, only about 1/3 rd of which are on duty at any given time due to shift rotations.  

How do we intend to maximize the involvement of the public?  Simple, we intend to give people:

• Knowledge-let them know about crimes in their area, so that they can share any knowledge that they may have about possible suspects.  Also, we intend to let them see and hear about fugitives in their community.
• Anonymity-providing an opportunity to share information without the risk of their identity being revealed.  We will dismiss a case and let an offender go freebefore we will reveal the identity of an informant that wishes to remain anonymous.
• An incentive to overcome apathy-by offering a cash incentive in many cases for information that saves a life, helps to recover property, or that brings about an arrest.

Our priorities are as follows:

• The protection of life
• The recovery of property
• The apprehension of offenders
• The prosecution of offenders

Information submitted to Crime Stoppers is protected.   We WILL NOT try in any way to trace phone numbers or email correspondance.  We will also shortly have an information submission form available where-in information submitted via email will not have a return address.  We are in the process of developing methods of assigning case numbers and working out better two way communications where there is limited access to a return phone number or email.   We would encourage those that would like to submit information but are extremely concerned about either revealing their identity or another party gaining access to their email, to open an email account with a remote email server such as hotmail or yahoo or any of hundreds of free email providers on the web.  This will provide potential informants with access to their email from anywhere with internet access and also security in the event that others have access to the informant's computer.  Most of these email accounts can also be opened without full or intimately accurate information and will also make informant information less available to us if that is a concern.   

Rewards are offered on cases that are approved by the Crime Stoppers board of directors.  Rewards for information that is given about cases where-in a reward has not yet been approved will be reviewed and paid, upon approval, on a monthly basis.  Hopefully we will be able to set up some quicker pay-outs down the road as our operations become more well established.

Since we are in the early stages of development, we are currently not able to offer a great deal in the way of cash rewards.  The present exceptions are some of our most wanted "dead beat parents", rewards for which are paid by the child support enforcement agency, and for unsolved crimes where-in the victims or other entities have offered a cash reward out of their own pockets.  As our program begins to grow, we hope to be able to offer more and more in the way of cash rewards, though we know that there are a great many people in our community that are happy to share information if they either know that we need their information, or if they can remain anonymous.  

If you would like to make a contribution to Haywood County Crime Stoppers, please visit the "Support Haywood County Crime Stoppers" section of our web site.