A Voice for the Good: Greater Fort Wayne Crime Stoppers
3Rivers is proud to support so many of the non-profit organizations that are committed to making our community a better place to live, work, and play, and we want to help spread the word about the difference they're making in our region. We’ve teamed up with 97.3WMEE to bring you A Voice for the Good, a series in which we feature local organizations on our website in the form of an informative articles as well as on-air segments highlighting the non-profits’ missions.
This article features Greater Fort Wayne Crime Stoppers—a local non-profit on a mission to “to make the streets safer for our families and neighborhoods.”
We talked with Ken Fries, Greater Fort Wayne Crime Stoppers Coordinator, to learn more about this organization and the work they’re doing in our region.
How did Greater Fort Wayne Crime Stoppers come to be? What’s the history behind how the organization initially got started?
Nationally, Crime Stoppers began in 1976. We started here in 1983. Crime Stoppers started because it seemed as though people did not want to get involved. This gives them an opportunity to get involved and stay anonymous.
What is the official mission of Greater Fort Wayne Crime Stoppers, and how is it currently being put into play?
Our mission is to assist police agencies by receiving information about crimes and wanted felons from anonymous tipsters. Our goal is to help the police solve crimes and make arrests, while maintaining the anonymity of our tipsters. Our tipsters then receive a reward for providing information.
How do you see the mission and vision of Greater Fort Wayne Crime Stoppers evolving in the future in the Northeast Indiana community? Where do you see your organization a year from now, or even five years from now?
We began our P3 Tips app program several years ago to help get more people involved. This has been a great tool. Our tipsters can send videos, pictures and have conversations through the app with local police and it is all anonymous. It has continued to grow, and I see this trend continuing.
Are there any exciting new developments, updates, or changes that have recently taken place at Greater Fort Wayne Crime Stoppers?
We are trying to get a new website developed. This all takes money and Crime Stoppers is funded by donations.
How can those interested in helping go about contacting Crime Stoppers?
You can either download the P3 tips app or call us at 260.436.7867. You can also send us tips through Indiana’s Most Wanted.
In what other ways can community members support Greater Fort Wayne Crime Stoppers—be it through monetary donations, material donations, education, etc.? Do you have an itemized wish list of any kind or utilize options like AmazonSmile to raise funds?
We are always looking for cash donations, since all our rewards are paid with donated funds! You can send checks to:
Crime Stoppers of Greater Fort Wayne
#1 Main Street
Suite 108
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802
We have three fundraisers each year, a car show, a golf outing, and a 4-mile run. You can find information about those on our website.
Where can our readers learn more about Greater Fort Wayne Crime Stoppers or about getting involved?
Check our website, which will hopefully be rebuilt this year!
Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about Greater Fort Wayne Crime Stoppers?
We have a great board of directors whose only goal is to make this area a better place to live, and we’re grateful for each of them.
If there is a group or organization that would like to me to come and speak to their group about what we do and why, send me an email at ken@crimestoppersfw.org or ken.fries@cityoffortwayne.org.
Interested in featuring your non-profit on our website and on 97.3WMEE’s A Voice for the Good? Text "VOICE" to 46862! Please note that this may lead you to incur standard text messaging rates or other applicable charges consistent with your wireless carrier/mobile phone plan.