Organisations share one goal

Crimestoppers CEO Lou Gardiner. Photo: Crimestoppers

Crimestoppers and Police can be a formidable team, says Crimestoppers CEO Lou Gardiner.

“The reason we started Crimestoppers in New Zealand was to help the police. We’re two separate organisations with the same objective – to make the community safer,” Lou says.

“Police do an amazing job and Crimestoppers is about adding to that. Everyone understands police can’t do it by themselves.

“The Crimestoppers guarantee of anonymity gives people who for various reasons are reluctant to talk to police a way to pass on what they know.

It opens up a channel of information police otherwise wouldn’t have had access to.”

Crimestoppers launched in New Zealand last October.

Increasing public awareness of the 0800 555111 number is critical to the service’s success, Lou says.

“The more widely we’re known, the more information we’ll receive and pass on to police, which in turn generates more awareness. It’s in everyone’s interest to help Crimestoppers become an integral part of our community. Together we can make a real difference.”