Crime biters to meet in Whistler Local Crimestoppers society to host symposium By Chris Woodall The Squamish & Whistler Crimestoppers Society hopes to take a better educated bite out of crime when it hosts a Crimestoppers Leadership Symposium, May 1-2. Held at the Delta Whistler Resort, featured workshops chat up relations with the press, effective community fund-raising, and student crime stoppers. The local society says having a student Crimestoppers program is important. "We're trying to increase awareness of the program," says Doug Grantham, a society member and teacher at Brackendale Secondary School. "People didn't know there was a Crimestoppers program in Whistler," Grantham says, although the Squamish chapter was active. The two communities recently decided to share the same society. The society hopes to set up a student version in area schools that would be run like the community program. Crimestoppers is not just a snitch line. "It creates awareness of what's going on in your community," Grantham says. "If you see or know of someone who's broken the law, you can call anonymously to the police with your tip." The caller won't have to go to court and could earn a cash award of between $50 and $500, depending on the crime committed, if the culprit is arrested, Grantham says. Money for tip awards is raised by the society. For some people, however, just making the call is enough. "A good percentage of people don't collect the money they're entitled to," Grantham says. If they wished to collect, callers get a personal code number to identify them when they call back to check on the progress of their tip. "It's not like ratting on your friend," Grantham says of setting up a school program. "Students have to ask themselves who's going to take control of their school: people who don't care about the rules of society, or the people who do."
