Solving crimes is not limited to local police officers.

Now, there is “Crime Stoppers,” a program in which DeKalb County citizens can anonymously phone in information about crimes.

Ed Pevonka, Crime Stoppers Coordinator, said more than $24,000 in stolen property and nearly $122,000 in drugs has been confiscated in DeKalb County by the program.

Crime Stoppers receives about 100 calls each year and about one out of every five calls leads to an arrest, Pevonka said. Since the program began in 1982, 206 arrests have been made, and $19,000 in rewards have been paid, he said.

The Crime Stoppers program was developed for the county in April 1982 as a result of the successful Rockford program, he said. “We just followed suit.”

Pevonka said the program offers a monetary award to citizens who call in information about a crime that leads to a felony arrest or apprehension of a wanted fugitive.

“The minimum award is $100,” Pevonka said. The awards can go up to $1,000 or more depending on the type of crime solved, the number of defendants or other information.

When calling Crime Stoppers, the caller is kept anonymous by receiving a code number. “They can call this number and they are assigned to a secret code,” Pevonka said. He said the caller can call back at any time and offer information he has about a crime.

Pevonka said the anonymity seems to bring in more calls.

The information then is forwarded to the local police Department, he said. “If that information leads to an arrest, the police recontact us,” he said.

The caller with the information is instructed to call back the Crime Stopper office to find out if his information led to an arrest.

If so, the caller can give instructions as to where to leave the monetary award, paid in cash. Pevonka said the recipient can leave instructions such as, “I’ll be wearing a green coat, standing on the corner of Lincoln Hwy. and First Street at 3:00.”

Pevonka said Crime Stoppers has received similar requests to protect the caller’s anonymity. “We have mailed the money, and we have left it under garbage cans,” he said.

Pevonka said the Crime Stoppers Board of Directors meet monthly to determine the amount of awards. He said the board is comprised of three groups including law enforcers, media members and community members.

He said the board is divided equally into thirds, and each group has an equal vote. Pevonka said the members of the media are on the board because the Crime Stoppers need to publicize the crimes through the media.

Pevonka said every week Crime Stoppers trys to feature a crime through the media. “We send press releases out to the radio stations and local newspapers asking for information on that crime,” he said.

This week Crime Stoppers is seeking information regarding the theft of two MacIntosh computers taken from NIU’s Visual Arts Building in December. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information solving this case. The Crime Stoppers telephone number is 895-3272.