PERSONS can earn up to $10,000 if they report illegal firearms to the police.
This is according to Darren Carmichael of Crime Stoppers at the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) presser on Wednesday.
The TTPS announced a massive operation in which the police service will be clamming down on illegal firearms for the next four months.
Carmichael said that the payout can start at around $2,500 and go upwards of $10,000 based on the type of illegal firearm and whether it can be linked to previous crimes.
He said, “Getting one firearm off the street is a major accomplishment for us in Crime Stoppers.”
If a person wishes to report an illegal firearm, they can make an anonymous report using either the Crime Stoppers’ Hotline (800-TIPS), their website (crimstopperstt.com), or the P3 app on iOS or Android. Carmichael said that no personal information or anything that can link an anonymous tipper to the crime is requested and tippers will be given a number in the event the police validate the report.
He said, “Tips will only be paid through Crime Stoppers programme where we could guarantee the anonymity, where we could correlate the information and assign the tip to know who exactly gave us that information.”
Anonymous tippers can then arrange to collect their reward via the Scotiabank branch of their choice where they can ask for the operations manager and collect their cash reward in an unmarked envelope through the tip number they were given.
Carmichael claimed there has not been a tipster who came to Crime Stoppers whose identity would have been revealed.
There was a heavy reliance on anonymous reports on illegal firearms from the public that the police would normally not have he said.
He appealed to the public who would observe illegal activities taking place to report them as it can aid in the reduction of these crimes.
Police officers who also find these illegal firearms will also be awarded in the form of special commendation, promotion or monetary rewards for the retrieval of these weapons.
The acting Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith also emphasised that citizens should not be reporting weapons only for monetary reward but also to aid in the public safety of the country.
He said, “That gun which you might us a tip for to retrieve can very well be the same firearm that could’ve prevented a situation that could take place in your own home.”
