See Thames Valley's Most Wanted

Thames Valley Police is the latest force to embrace Crimestoppers' Most Wanted website. The force has uploaded 60 appeals onto the site and are appealing for information on individuals who are wanted for crimes ranging from drug supply to rape to violence.

By visiting the Thames Valley page on the Crimestoppers website and calling the charity on 0800 555 111 if you have information on any of the wanted individuals, you will be helping to make your streets safer.

Below you can watch a short interview with DCI Ray Howard, Head of Thames Valley Police's Intelligence Bureau, in which he discusses Most Wanted and working with Crimestoppers.



Keep it up crimestoppers!

Crimestoppers reaches 100,000 arrests

It’s a great day when I hear how us crime-fighters are winning in the fight against crime. Imagine my joy then, when I heard that anonymous information passed on to Crimestoppers has led to 100,000 criminals being arrested and charged!

That’s an average of 21 people being arrested and charged every single day! This total includes 887 people that were arrested and charged for murder, over £189 million worth of drugs being seized and the recovery of over £112 million worth of goods. Boy, am I pleased to know I’ve got Crimestoppers on side!

The charity, which has been running for 22 years, has just reached this incredible milestone. I am only too familiar with the difficulties we face against the criminals so a big pat on the back for Crimestoppers from one crime-fighter to another. A huge thank you must also go to all those fantastic people who contacted Crimestoppers with information about crimes - without these people this amazing feat would never have been possible.

We may be winning the fight, but it is far from won. Remember, if you have information about a crime, please contact Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or through the secure online form.

Who is this man?

There are ups and downs of every job, including being a super hero. It's great being able to help solve crime, but some of the cases I hear about are horrible.

In May 2010, a young girl was sexually assaulted in Fleetwood, Lancashire. She was forced into a car by a man who then drove her to an area on Rossall Lane and assaulted her. Attacks on children chill me to the bone. It is disgusting that people attack other adults, let alone children and young people.

Lancashire Police are working hard to bring the culprit in this case to justice. The little girl’s attacker is said to have two or three badly broken or missing teeth on his upper jaw. It is also believed he was driving a dark green or turquoise car on the day of the attack.

As part of the inquiry, police are appealing for any information on a man seen at the ‘pitch and putt’ on Fleetwood promenade, close to the Marine Hall, early afternoon on Thursday 15 April. The man was carrying camera equipment and wearing black. Officers have stressed that this man could be entirely incident and may have been in the area for recreational purposes.

If you know anything about this crime then be sure to get in touch with either Lancashire Police, or if you want to pass on information anonymously, you can contact the charity Crimestoppers. You can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or pass on information online using the charity's secure online form.

Crimestoppes has offered a £10,000 reward for information leading the arrest and conviction of the person/persons responsible for this crime. Only information submitted through Crimestoppers will be eligible for the reward.





14 June 2010 - Update: A man has now been charged with this crime. Read more on the BBC News website.

What are phishing emails?

Although I consider myself to be quite Internet savvy, I still receive emails from time to time that throw me a little. You always hear people warning about phishing emails and saying not to reveal too much about yourself online. But do you know what a phishing email is and how to spot one?

Phishing emails
Phishing emails are emails that pretend to be from a genuine company or organisation and attempt to trick recipients into disclosing their bank account details. Often these emails look very realistic and contain the logo and colour schemes of the company they claim to be from.

As a rule, never tell anyone your bank account details by email.

Some phishing emails will ask you to follow a link and confirm your internet banking login details – never do this. These links might be taking you to a fake website, made to look identical to the site you normally go to for Internet banking. Always type in the regular URL you use to login to your internet banking into the address bar of a new browser window as opposed to following links you receive by email.

Some people that I’ve spoken to who have been victims of phishing scams have said that as well as feeling angry and worried, they felt a little embarrassed to have fallen victim to a scam in the first place. If you think you have been the victim of a scam, don’t be embarrassed – it is not your fault.

Those that run scams are despicable and need to be caught. If you know of anyone involved in criminal activity, including scams, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously through the online form on the charity’s website. If you are worried you might have been a victim of a phishing scam or you want to know more about them, visit the Bank Safe Online website.

Royal Parks Half Marathon - are you ready?

I've never been very good at keeping New Years resolutions. Every January I make big promises - only drinking sangria on weekends, calling my mama more often etc - but they don't often materialise. This year I thought that if I only chose one resolution then I might find it easier to keep it. After much thought I decided ponerse en forma - to get fit.

Since I left my teenage years I've slowly been developing a bit of a spare tire (or a 'tum' as I prefer it to be known, sounds cuter that way). The Caped Crimestopper (who prides himself on his fitness) suggested I do some running.

I've started slowly - running a mile still makes me puff - but I'm hoping to run the Royal Parks Half Marathon at some point. Royal Parks is a half marathon held in October that takes in scenic parks and sites of London. It's half the distance of the marathon, containing it's best bits.

Crimestoppers has charity places available for this year's Royal Parks Half Marathon. If you think running to a target would work for you, why not sign up? You can email the events team (events@crimestoppers-uk.org) to find out more. If a half marathon is too far (or not far enough!) then never fear, you're able to complete pretty much any event on behalf of Crimestoppers as an own place runner.

If you've got any good fitness tips, let me know! I'm up for the challenge - are you?

Did you know?

Telling people I'm a superhero for Crimestoppers tends to prompt a lot of questions. At first people want to know if that's how I keep my body in such great shape. Once I've answered that (and it can take hours of explaining, believe me!) people are keen to know about Crimestoppers and what the charity does.

It's been a bit too cold and miserable lately to be outside much so I've decided to do a bit of DYK (standing for 'did you know') instead of DIY. Below are the three questions that I most commonly get asked by people about Crimestoppers. Read up and get informed. You never know, this information might just win you a pub quiz one day.


1. Is Crimestoppers is the only organisation in the United Kingdom that allows members of the public to anonymously pass on information about crime?
Yes, Crimestoppers is the only organisation in the UK that allows people to anonymous pass on information about crime. You can pass on information to Crimestoppers by calling us on 0800 555 111, filling out our anonymous online form or texting 88551 with information about knife crime.


2. What does it mean when you say the service is anonymous?
Crimestoppers is anonymous because your name and identity isn't known by us or made public. Calls and online forms are not traced and no personal details (not even gender) about those who contact us are taken down. Find out more about Crimestoppers and anonymity.


3. What happens if I call Crimestoppers?
Why not watch the short video below about calling Crimestoppers if you want to know more about how calls are taken?





If you've got any questions about Crimestoppers and the work we do, get in touch.