Impact Report 2017-18

www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555 111

2017 -18

Impact Report

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Welcome

Impact Report 2017 -18

Welcome from our Chair T

Lord Ashcroft, KCMG PC, Founder and Chair of Crimestoppers.

hank you for taking the time to read our latest annual Impact Report. Here we demonstrate how Crimestoppers makes a tangible difference helping communities and companies to stay safe.

We give people the power to speak up and stop crime – 100% anonymously.

Our charity goes from strength to strength, trusted by hundreds of thousands of people every year. We are here to listen and here to help.

Crime can be worrying and a proportion of the population refuse to speak to the authorities for a variety of reasons. In a fast-changing world where perceptions, and perhaps personal circumstances, leave some people feeling disempowered, it’s good to know they can always trust Crimestoppers.

We believe everyone has the right to feel safe from crime, wherever they live or work.

Our UK Contact Centre is open 24/7, 365 days a year. We are available by phone and online.

We won’t ask your name or judge you. We just listen to what you know and pass it on for you.

I am proud that in 30 years, we have never broken our guarantee of anonymity. This promise is key to our success.

Our staff and volunteers are reminded on a daily basis of the substantial impact we make as we help those whose voices (and invaluable information) would otherwise not be heard. We understand people’s concerns.

With your support, we commit all our efforts to giving people hope by passing on their information, protecting their identity and helping to make our communities stronger and safer.

I am proud that in 30 years, we have never broken our guarantee of anonymity.

This promise is key to our success.

www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555 111

Contents

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Contents Welcome from our Chair

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Introduction from our CEO

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New vision, mission and values

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Our Stoppers’ stories

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Tracking our progress

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Achieving our strategy

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Anonymity

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Engagement

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Education: Fearless

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Analysis

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Volunteering

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Business development

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Tackling fraud and fakes

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Thank you

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Financial highlights

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Auditor’s statement

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Introduction

Impact Report 2017 -18

Introduction from our CEO W

Mark Hallas OBE, CEO Crimestoppers.

e have seen a number of projects come to fruition in 2017/18, all of which will allow us to help more people who feel they have no one else to turn to.

I’m delighted that we now have a new website reflecting our refreshed brand and warmer, empathetic tone of voice. This is the culmination of a number of years of work and is guided by our research and strategy.

To help more people and protect them from the crimes that harm them most, it was essential that our communications modernise and adapt to the times. Our aim is to connect with those people and communities who may not know about us but can greatly benefit from our anonymous reporting service.

We have continued to learn more about our beneficiaries, the environments where they live and work, and the barriers that stop them from speaking up.

With the worrying rise in youth crime, we are boosting our efforts through our youth service Fearless with more

workers across the UK. This will ensure more young people know they have options when it comes to dealing with the crime around them that affects their lives.

Our staff have demonstrated their continued commitment, nowhere more so than at our Contact Centre. They are at the front line of our work and know intimately how we give a helping hand at the right time to the 450,000 people who trusted us with their crime information.

In the following pages you’ll read about the difference we’ve made to people’s lives during difficult times: from tackling the hidden harms of slavery and domestic violence, to our campaign work with police and commercial partners; to how our Enhanced Rewards assist investigations into more serious crimes and the contribution made by our dedicated volunteers.

All combined, I believe that we have faced the challenges well.

Our focus remains - together with our partners - on providing the people and funds to power our unique work.

Our aim is to connect with people and communities who can greatly benefit from our anonymous reporting service.

Values

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New vision, mission and values Our vision: Everyone has the right to feel safe from crime, wherever they live. This is our vision and explains why we exist.

Our mission is what we do to achieve our vision: • We’re an independent charity that gives you the

power to speak up to stop crime, 100% anonymously.

• Whoever you are, wherever you live, from communities to companies.

• By phone and online, 24/7, 365 days a year.

• We also share advice on how to protect the people

you care about from crime, so everyone can feel safe.

How we behave and communicate is expressed in these values:

We care.

We’re inclusive.

We believe that everyone has the right to feel safe from crime, wherever they live.

Crime can be frightening, so we offer hope.

We don’t judge people – we’re here for everyone who needs us. We can change communities for the better by working together.

We’re trustworthy.

We’re a reliable, honest, independent charity.

We act responsibly and never break anonymity.

We’re determined.

We commit all our efforts to achieving positive change. We have a ‘can-do’ attitude and we communicate like real people, directly and clearly.

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Accomplishments

Impact Report 2017 -18

Our Stoppers’ stories Of the 450,000 people who contacted Crimestoppers last year, here are some examples of how we have supported people and communities.

Drugs We were contacted by someone who was worried about the suspicious behaviour of neighbours and their lavish lifestyle. Their information led to 2 properties being searched. Around £1million in cash was discovered, along with a huge stash of drugs. As a result, 4 arrests were made for drug offences and money laundering.

the car, which led them to a secret lock-up.

Inside they discovered nearly a dozen machine guns, a serious stash of ammunition, body armour and several machetes.

number of men using baseball

Hate Crime

bats and hit by their car

Hate crime can have a

deliberately, it sent shockwaves

devastating effect on people’s

shopkeeper was attacked by a

murder.

Weapons We were contacted by a parent concerned after spotting someone selling knuckle dusters on a social media website. Weapons designed to injure or kill are banned in the UK for good reason. The information led to a man being convicted and more than 50 knuckle dusters being taken off our streets.

lives. We took urgent action to pass on information after receiving intelligence naming who was responsible for the robbery of a disabled man.

The person was arrested and

An international money laundering operation was exposed after we received detailed information. Millions of pounds worth of real estate was fraudulently acquired abroad.

The family-run illegal operation involved many other people and included credit card fraud and illegal money transfers. As an illustration of the scale of the gang’s footprint, one single fraudulent transaction was worth more than £100,000.

charged.

Cuckooing

which threatens the safety of everyone.

pulling over the vehicle – decided to follow

shop workers are sadly all

were arrested for attempted

knew was selling guns on the black market,

on their information, police – instead of

of work. However, corner

received, a number of people

A caller was worried that someone they

car that was being used. After we passed

safe from crime in their place

too aware of the risks. When a

After a violent attack on a gay man in broad daylight, we took a call identifying the suspect. He was charged and is due to appear in court.

Acid Attack In recent years there has been a sharp and worrying rise in the number of acid attacks. This relatively new crime can leave victims with permanent scarring to the face and body and in some cases leads to blindness as well as long-term psychological and social problems.

Our Contact Centre recently received a call warning of a planned acid attack on a man as he returned from work. Thanks to this information, safeguarding measures were put in place to prevent the individual coming to any harm.

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Money Laundering

Everyone has the right to be

Thanks to intelligence we

Firearms

They gave us specific information about the

Violence

through the local community.

Neighbours were concerned about a vulnerable person who may have been taken advantage of by a number of people who regularly visited. Their suspicious activity led to us getting a call. Class A drugs were found and 4 people arrested in a suspected example of cuckooing. This is where drug dealers take over the homes of vulnerable people to use as a base for dealing.

Accomplishments

www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555 111

Burglary The information we receive from the public covers the full spectrum of crime that affects communities and businesses.

Burglary can have a particularly nasty effect on the victims. After a string of house burglaries left residents distressed and concerned for their safety, Crimestoppers put up a £2,000 reward for information. It wasn’t long before our Contact Centre received crucial information about some of those involved. The reward publicity across local media led to a man being named, arrested and charged.

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Tracking Our Progress

Impact Report 2017 -18

Statistics

Tracking Our Progress

www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555 111

Protecting Children

We help stop the most harmful of crimes, where often vulnerable people are exploited and hurt many times.

We are proud that more people trust us with their information on these hidden harms. Behind every call is a person whom we can help.

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Child sexual abuse reports 2500

Crime isn’t just limited to victims and perpetrators. It spills out to families and communities, where the harm is multiplied. Over the past year the intelligence we received ranged from examples of paedophiles who are acting collectively on social media, to adults encouraging young girls to become hooked on drugs before abusing them.

2000 1500 1000 500 0

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

Preventing Domestic Abuse Neighbours heard heated arguments

Domestic abuse reports

coming from a nearby property over many weeks and were worried that a woman’s life could be in danger.

After they contacted us with the details, the girlfriend was spoken to discreetly by police and admitted she was

Stopping Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking

Countering Terror Threats

It’s estimated that there are up to 70,000 prostitutes working in the UK. These are people who are being exploited by criminal gangs. After we took a call from a concerned resident about a woman being threatened and forced to have sex with men, officers discovered a network with a number of women who had been flown to the UK on a false promise and forced into the sex trade.

All the women involved received help and support from relevant authorities.

Terrorism – because of its scale when it happens – not only causes physical destruction, but leaves a community fearful and psychologically harmed. We receive many contacts, including bomb threats. Our information has helped prevent destruction, including at a recent Remembrance Day service which was halted after a suspicious package was discovered.

the victim of domestic

Counter-terrorism reports

abuse. She needed hospital treatment

Modern slavery reports

on many occasions after being repeatedly beaten by her boyfriend.

Safeguarding measures were put in place

208

547

923

1,480

250

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

2014/15

750

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

293 328 457

2015/16

to protect the woman.

2014/15

2013/14

332

2016/17 2017/18

270 587

0 150 300 450 600

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Our Strategy

Impact Report 2017 -18

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Our Strategy

Achieving our strategy We have seen numerous projects finally coming to fruition. Our refreshed brand has been launched, as has our new website and intranet.

Analysis

Education

Engagement

Anonymity

Progress so far

Our next steps

We are helping more people. For 2 consecutive years we’ve answered more calls and responded to more online forms, up by 44%.

To cope with the increasing demand, we will rearrange our Contact Centre to create space for more staff, review shift patterns and consider specialist staff for some services.

This is stretching our Contact Centre staff’s capacity to manage as we ask them to deal with the higher volume and more complex calls about crimes causing the most harm.

The implementation of new data protection laws (GDPR) will continue with staff training and by working with our clients to make sure we hold personal data appropriately.

Our new brand has been well received both internally and externally. Research has enabled us to craft our key messages to resonate with both Stoppers and Supporters.

We will continue to build on the brand. It is like learning a foreign language; each new piece of communication needs fresh thinking.

More people are contacting us than ever before on crimes that cause the most harm.

Domestic abuse and serious violent crime are our current focus. We will continue to campaign locally in response to community and police needs.

We have welcomed new Fearless outreach workers to our regional team. With the sad growth in both knife and drug-related crimes, they are busy working with young people and youth professionals.

Encouraging a strong working relationship between our Regional Managers and volunteers will sustain our wider volunteer network and help build trust with Stopper communities.

This area of our strategy continues to evolve slowly. The new brand is a key component to help us speak out on a range of issues with confidence.

We intend to increase our profile with more proactive approaches to the national media on issues of national concern.

Plans to do more about cyber crime were limited by the investment in and time needed to build our new website. Now it is up and running, we can add more prevention advice and ‘signs to spot’ about a range of crime topics.

Internal policy papers, with a strong evidence base, will define how we help on individual crime issues and help provide the business case for fundable projects and partnerships, which add a huge amount of value to our work.

We have invested in skills and tools to be able to dig deeper into the information we receive.

We are actively seeking funding for more in-depth research into the barriers to giving information, although our brand research touched on this area.

The pilot of an automated system to share information with police has gone well and we intend to roll it out in other areas.

We are learning more from the information we receive and now we must use this in our decision making and in the stories we tell about our impact.

The automated system is improving the feedback we receive from forces. We are still learning how to use this system and already have interest from other police forces.

It’s time to reflect on our strategy, what we have achieved and what we need to do next.

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Anonymity

Impact Report 2017 -18

www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555 111

Anonymity

Cash rewards

Anonymity is at the heart of everything we do.

Crimestoppers exists for those people who are desperate to do the right thing, but are unwilling to contact police directly.

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his year we have broken records again, receiving an extra 50,000 contacts from the public. We have taken approximately 450,000 pieces of information, and over 150,000 of them have been carefully disseminated to police forces and other law enforcement agencies.

As mentioned earlier, we have invested in an automated data dissemination and feedback tool; whilst it is still relatively new, early results are promising.

Anonymous reports sent to the police

Voice

his year we supported 20 constabularies with 65

enhanced rewards of up to £10,000.

A third of rewards were offered

Online

for details leading to the arrest of a named, wanted individual.

The remainder focused on

160,000

information around specific

140,000

crimes such as attempted rape,

120,000

burglary or murder.

100,000

Less than 1% of our cash

80,000

rewards for information are

60,000

claimed, proving that the

40,000

overwhelming majority of those

20,000

who contact us do so in the spirit

0 2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

of protecting the people and communities they care about.

Modern slavery campaign generates over 100 potential cases

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rimestoppers worked closely with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) on a campaign raising awareness of modern slavery. Using the GLAA’s problem profile, we identified specific sectors and languages which are most affected. This included focusing on construction, nail bars, car washes, maritime and agriculture.

The campaign was delivered in 2 phases: the creation of artwork and an e-newsletter mailed to professionals and those with relevant industry links in preparation for the second phase, which was public-facing.

The leaflets and weblinks provided guidance on how to recognise the signs of slavery in different sectors, along with a steer on where and how to report it.

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Rewards help generate media coverage and encourage people to contact us.

180,000

2013/14

Anonymity

A generic leaflet detailing how to recognise signs of slavery was also produced in 7 languages, to enable us to reach individuals whose first language is not English. These languages were Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Russian and Vietnamese.

During the campaign period more than 100 reports were distributed to the GLAA, which was an increase of 30% compared to the previous month. 1,600 visits were made to the dedicated page on the Crimestoppers website during the campaign.

Positive feedback from the public and businesses has prompted continued interest in further campaigns, expanding sectors and languages to mirror emerging trends.

The leading officer of one recent investigation where a reward was paid out, told Crimestoppers that: “The information was crucial in the apprehension and arrest of the suspect. Without this information, the suspect

would still be at large.”

As well as enhanced rewards, our commitment to guaranteeing anonymity has encouraged third parties to offer cash rewards though us.

One high-profile case saw the family of Lisa Brown, a Scottish woman who went missing in Cadiz, Spain in 2015, offer a reward of up to £100,000 for information on her disappearance. The appeal received international media coverage and a man has since been arrested.

Our rewards are an essential tool for the police, especially when they face a ‘wall of silence’ in their investigation.

Lisa Brown’s brother speaking at a press conference in Cadiz.

Combatting County Lines

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ounty Lines describes gangs and drug networks that are based in larger cities and towns expanding their territory to sell drugs to other areas, including market and coastal towns. The gangs often use intimidation, violence and weapons, including knives, corrosives and firearms.

As many of the people targeted, groomed or coerced into County Lines are children or vulnerable adults, Crimestoppers is the perfect anonymous reporting service, enabling people to speak up about their experiences.

We have recently run campaigns in North-West England, North Wales and North-East Scotland to raise awareness of County Lines.

Results are still coming in, but so far North-West England alone had an average increase of 12% in intelligence received.

We are also in the process of preparing to deliver a campaign covering the County Lines ‘corridor’ of South-West England and the West Midlands.

Given our unique offer of anonymity, Crimestoppers now features on all new Home Office national County Lines materials.

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Engagement

Impact Report 2017 -18

Engagement

Scotland: Empowering social housing tenants in Glasgow

rime and anti-social behaviour has been on the rise in parts of Glasgow, affecting residents of Europe’s biggest social landlord.

They have more than 250,000 tenants living in accommodation across 17 local authority areas.

Fear had led to residents becoming reluctant to give information to either Housing Officers or the police.

A partnership between Glasgow Housing Association/Wheatley

Group, Police Scotland, Community Improvement Partnership and Scotland Crimestoppers worked together on a scheme training all housing staff about our 100% guaranteed anonymity and our Fearless youth service.

18,000

local people reached through social media.

Calling cards were delivered to all households, along with other printed resources. Banners were also displayed on many busy

increase in information compared to pre-campaign.

The West Midlands region ran a number of campaigns over the last year, with the most successful tackling car key burglaries.

Our County Lines campaign in North-West England had an average increase of over 12% in intelligence received.

main roads.

We ran a 4-week, postcodetargeted social media campaign reaching over 18,000 local people.

Feedback from all partners was hugely positive and we plan to replicate the programme’s success in other areas across Scotland.

Wales: Month-long drugs campaign proves positive

Northern Ireland: Contact Centre visit reassures communities

We launched a campaign urging residents in Powys to contact us with information on illegal drug supply activity in the area.

Throughout December, using digital media and community leafleting, we encouraged residents to tell us what they knew about drug dealing.

The campaign saw a significant increase in information over the month compared to November, with 44 reports received, compared with 16 the previous month – an increase of 175%.

For the first time ever, Crimestoppers hosted a large group of influential police, political and community leaders and mediators from Northern Ireland on a special visit to our Contact Centre.

The aim was to alleviate fears and encourage participants to promote us in their different communities.

Around 20 people – all of whom were vetted and cleared to visit our secure information hub – benefited from seeing first-hand how we operate.

Feedback from the visit was extremely positive.

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England: The work of our staff in the regions remains a vital cog in the Crimestoppers wheel, helping to keep communities safer

55%

Our teams work closely with the Home Office, along with national, regional and local police forces, on national government crime priorities.

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Engagement

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A campaign raising awareness of sexual consent in Lincolnshire saw a 100% increase in information received during the 4 weeks.

The work we carry out in Gloucestershire on knife crime continues to thrive, thanks to Fearless. Twenty-one schools between September 2017 and March 2018 were visited, engaging almost 3,000

young people.

Of those:

Almost

50%

said they’d no longer hang around with someone who carries a knife.

In Loughborough, our campaign to tackle burglary in the town saw the rate of incidents reduce

by 40%.

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Education

Impact Report 2017 -18

www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555 111

Education

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Fearless Our youth service – educates and empowers young people.

Knife crime

A still from the ‘Are you Fearless’ bilingual promotional film.

Wales asks ‘Are you Fearless?’

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ales has continued to see the benefit of Fearless, following a successful launch and

promotion of the ‘Are you Fearless?’ bilingual film made in Autumn 2017. The short film, financed by the Percy Hoskins Award, encourages young people to speak up about crime. It was aided by a suite of new resources for youth professionals.

The success of the film – estimated to have been seen by thousands of young people – led to 2 Fearless projects in Dyfed Powys and Gwent Police forces. These were funded by their respective Police and Crime Commissioners. The Regional Manager, together with the Fearless team, devised a digital engagement campaign culminating in 2 successful youth conferences during March.

The events reached more than 200 youth professionals and educators and explored issues such as cyber crime, modern day slavery and child exploitation, as well as collaborating on ways to empower young people to report crime. Speakers included the Welsh Government Anti-Slavery Coordinator, Swansea University Law School and the charity Young Citizens, as well as experts on domestic abuse and digital citizenship.

Cymru yn holi ‘A wyt ti Heb Ofn?’

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ae Cymru wedi parhau i weld mantais Fearless yn dilyn lansiad llwyddiannus a gweithgarwch i hyrwyddo ffilm ddwyieithog ‘A wyt ti Heb Ofn?’, a gynhyrchwyd yn ystod yr Hydref 2017. Mae’r ffilm fer, a ariannwyd gan Wobr Percy Hoskins, yn annog pobl ifanc i godi eu llais ynghylch troseddu. Fe’i cefnogwyd gan gyfres o adnoddau newydd ar gyfer gweithwyr proffesiynol sy’n gweithio gyda phobl ifanc.

Arweiniodd llwyddiant y ffilm – yr amcangyfrifir bod miloedd o bobl ifanc wedi ei gweld – at ddau brosiect Fearless yn heddluoedd Dyfed Powys a Gwent. Ariannwyd y rhain gan eu Comisiynwyr Heddlu a Throseddu. Aeth y Rheolwr Rhanbarthol, ynghyd â thîm Fearless, ati i lunio ymgyrch ymgysylltu digidol, a arweiniodd at ddwy gynhadledd ieuenctid lwyddiannus a gynhaliwyd ym mis Mawrth.

Llwyddodd y digwyddiadau i gyrraedd dros 200 o weithwyr proffesiynol ac addysgwyr sy’n gweithio gyda phobl ifanc, gan archwilio materion megis seiberdroseddu, caethwasiaeth fodern a chamfanteisio ar blant, yn ogystal â chydweithio ar ffyrdd o rymuso pobl ifanc i adrodd am droseddau. Roedd y siaradwyr yn cynnwys Cydlynydd Atal Caethwasiaeth Llywodraeth Cymru, Ysgol y Gyfraith Prifysgol Abertawe ac elusen Dinasyddion Ifanc, yn ogystal ag arbenigwyr ynghylch cam-drin domestig a dinasyddiaeth ddigidol.

London weapons campaign reaches thousands of young people.

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nife crime is a major problem in cities and towns across the country. It’s particularly acute in London, which is why we are building on our programme to educate and empower young people to take positive steps towards prevention by introducing them to Fearless.org.

We recently delivered a 3-phased campaign in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in south London. Our social media posts and bus advertising campaign was seen by more than 75,000

“Young people are often reluctant to ‘grass’ so this is a very useful service for those that won’t want to report” Social Worker who received a Fearless.org training session in Kingston.

young people who live or study in the borough.

We also fulfilled our programme to train 100 professionals who are engaged with young people at grassroots level, providing them with the skills, knowledge and tools to have a healthy debate and discussion around the issues of knife crime.

Feedback indicated over 94% of the attendees thought our

resources would help them in their work with young people.

They also planned to deliver Fearless workshops off the back of the training.

As a result of the campaign, 13 actionable pieces of information were passed on to the Metropolitan Police.

Fearless bus advertising in south London.

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Analysis

Impact Report 2017 -18

Analysis Information is key to our success; it influences our campaign work and, more recently, has helped shape how we communicate externally.

A commitment to use evidence and learning helped us achieve a clear brand We reviewed and refreshed our brand because we know we need to build trust and relationships with people who are important to us.

Innovations in information sharing

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his year we successfully built and introduced pilot computer software in partnership with 5 police forces.

We want to help more people who are worried about crime to speak out, to stop crime – 100% anonymously.

The software allows forces to automatically retrieve information

reports sent from our system, Hermes. It then auto-populates their intelligence system (Niche), saving each force thousands of pounds.

It also improves the feedback we receive about how Crimestoppers’ information was used by providing a full audit trail.

The pilot, in the Eastern Region, saw significantly higher volumes of outcomes recorded.

Surrey, Sussex and West Yorkshire are due to use the program imminently and we hope that in due course all forces will use this time-saving software.

We want more people to support our work, who share our belief that everyone has a right to be safe from crime.

Analysis

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Our brand has been well researched. We know that the messages strongly resonate with and appeal to our beneficiaries and supporters. What we did: Conducted a survey of the general population

Gathered views from staff, volunteers and supporters

Compared ourselves to other charity and police brands

Reviewed existing research on Crimestoppers

Key findings Our survey asked a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ and found:

18%

of the population have chosen not to report a historic crime. The people who are less likely to report a crime include: • Men • Under 45s • Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people • Renters • The disabled

Audience perceptions; public focus groups • The Crimestoppers name is well known. Most had at least some idea of our service, but confusion with the police and Neighbourhood Watch was evident.

• Almost no one recognised the previous Crimestoppers logo, which means there was less risk in changing it.

• Our charity status was a surprise but it was reassuring.

• Our logo, website and campaigns all had a different look and feel.

A lack of consistency contributes to lack of recognition. Our refreshed brand addresses these issues.

Held focus groups with representatives of our audiences.

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Volunteering

Impact Report 2017 -18

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Spotlight on Essex Our volunteers play a vital role, boosting our impact at a local level.

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ssex is one of our most active volunteer committees. People from the county have passed on a record number of crime reports during the 12 months to March this year – up 20% on the previous record year.

Between April last year and March this year, nearly 5,800 reports were passed on. Arrests and charges also rose during the same period with more than 50 a month for the first 6 months of the year.

The figures include large increases in reports for drugs and driving offences, wanted persons, possession of weapons, theft, burglary and assault.

The committee’s activities included:

• A campaign with all Essex

Community Safety Partnerships on cuckooing.

• A rural crime campaign.

• Training about Fearless for local police cadets.

Further distribution of more than 100,000 innovative Crimestoppers pocket cards about our services.

Dobinson, has made a significant contribution to the success, in particular, networking with partners – a key factor in gaining support along with initiatives.”

Following the successful domestic abuse campaign aimed at vets and the connection between abuse of animals extending to people, Essex rolled out a second phase for GPs, dentists, opticians and pharmacists. This was supported by the Percy Hoskins Award.

Expansion of the Community Ambassador Programme.

Stuart Rawlins, Chair of our Volunteer Committee in Essex, said: “Success is often dependent on volunteers and while as always it’s a team effort, one volunteer, Colin

ur partnership with The University of Greenwich enables 2 students a year to gain invaluable sector insight into how a charity works, whilst improving their skills and overall knowledge.

The placement is a key part of Criminology Law programmes at Greenwich for final year students and adds a unique perspective for those who successfully apply to join us. Finding sufficient time for research and analysis can be a challenge and having students help and inform our work by being involved in such tasks is mutually beneficial.

At the end of their 6 month placement, students complete a report and reflective diary about their experience. Katrine and Mohima have recently finished their course placements.

Katrine, a student from Norway, said: “The charity’s passion is inspiring and it gave me a completely different perspective and greater knowledge than classroom lectures can ever give on crime and crime fighting. It was great to work with so many fantastic people and learn from them.”

Mohima, who said she would definitely recommend the placement to other students, added: “You learn a lot from working at Crimestoppers and the knowledge gained from my experience has really benefited my degree too. The team at Crimestoppers are so friendly and helpful. I felt comfortable from my very first day, so a huge thank you.”

“It was great to work with so many fantastic people and learn from them.”

Poster from the rural crime campaign.

Norwegian student Katrine.

Volunteering

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University of Greenwich student placements flourish

Katrine and Mohima, who completed a work placement with Crimestoppers.

The LLB (Hons) Law programme at Greenwich was ranked No.1 in Law in the London region for Student Satisfaction in both the 2017 and 2016 Complete University Guides.

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Business Development

Impact Report 2017 -18

Business development Crimestoppers has ongoing partnerships with companies whose products and services align with our ethos of staying safe. Companies have to meet our ethics policy and aim to keep the public safe from crime.

Licensing: Public safety through product power Safe Buyer Scheme

Home and property protection

In the ever-changing, fast-moving world of crime, Crimestoppers is always looking for new products and services that have been developed to protect the general public, industries and charities from wrongdoing.

The Safe Buyer Scheme – run

by BE Consultancy – is a unique service developed to counter the rise in payment fraud. It protects the deposit payments of house buyers, ensuring funds go to the correct bank account and not that of a fraudster.

• Ring’s hi-tech live video doorbells • Lloytron’s rapid response floodlights • Henry Squires’ high-security locks to deter theft • Selectamark’s unique DNA property marker designed to reduce burglary and recover stolen items to their rightful owner

www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555 111

C

rimestoppers joined forces with the Intellectual Property

Office and other industry partners to run a pilot campaign raising awareness of potential risks associated with illicit streaming devices.

It warned the public that these devices pose safety and personal security risks and that their use The campaign ran for 3

we encouraged people to tell us

“There have been a number of convictions now and work is currently ongoing to identify those organised groups making huge profits and avoiding tax by supplying poor quality and unsafe devices to consumers.”

who is involved in selling illicit

Chief Constable Giles York, National Police lead for Intellectual Property.

receive, respond to and consume

Energy theft and meter tampering can have devastating consequences to life and costs the industry hundreds of millions each year.

Crimestoppers has been working with the energy industry to help keep people safe under the StayEnergySafe brand. It allows the public to pass on their concerns and suspicions of energy theft via a dedicated telephone number and bespoke website.

Over the past year, 4,300 people have used the service – a 38% increase on the previous year – and

Illicit streaming puts vulnerable children at risk.

and distribution is also illegal.

of insights on how audiences the monthly figures are continuing to rise. Our core message remains that meter tampering is not a victimless crime but is dangerous and can be fatal. Information we receive helps save lives.

23

Risks of illicit streaming devices highlighted

months and provided a wealth

Boost to energy safety line

Business Development

information on this topic. With the theme of community safety,

streaming devices.

This prompted a rise in

Property, supported the campaign

information received of more than

and stated: “To the consumer, illicit

250% compared to the 3 months

streaming devices might appear

prior to the campaign.

to be a good thing, but with clear

Whilst public opinion on the seriousness of this crime was divided, we advised on the risks

links to organised crime where does your money actually go?

“There have been a number

of using these devices and

of convictions now and work is

emphasised that their production

currently ongoing to identify

and distribution can be linked to

those organised groups making

serious and organised crime gangs.

huge profits and avoiding tax by

Chief Constable Giles York, National Police lead for Intellectual

supplying poor quality and unsafe devices to consumers.”

24

Business Development

Impact Report 2017 -18

Fraud and fakes 10,000

hits received on our website advice pages.

Older and vulnerable people advised to get scam savvy

W

e have partnered with the Post Office over the past 5 years, delivering numerous public awareness and intelligencegenerating campaigns. Our most recent activity took place in October 2017 and focused on scams that target older or more vulnerable people. The Post Office is keen to fulfil its duty of care, especially to those who are at greater risk of being defrauded.

The campaign ran for 4 weeks in Leeds, West Yorkshire, with the aim of educating and reassuring older people and their families that work is being done to tackle this issue. We encouraged those with

I the Wine & Spirit Trade Association in 2016. Having received a number of reports from the target audience in Greater Manchester, we launched our second campaign in the run-up to Christmas 2017. target city of Newcastle, with its

n the run-up to the June 2017 General Election, we were approached by the Electoral Commission to devise a campaign to ensure the public were aware of the risk of electoral fraud, how to spot it and to encourage them to speak up if they have suspicions.

We ensured the campaign targeted specific, relevant audiences using social, broadcast and print media and the

electoral fraud is rare, perceptions of fraud can be damaging and it remains a serious crime.

The public passed on dozens of examples of potential threats and breaches of the electoral process to our Contact Centre, in addition to information about those who might be breaking the law.

As a result of the wider effort, police forces across the UK investigated more than 330 electoral fraud allegations in 2017.

population.

The focus was on fake alcohol, its dangerous and shocking ingredients, and how it can severely affect the health of the drinker – sometimes fatally. In addition to the personal health risks, profits from this blackmarket activity are often linked to serious organised crime networks.

We reached an audience of nearly 200,000 and generated 24 reports over the month-long campaign about those involved in the trade of illicit alcohol,

Fresh look to fake notes warning yields rise in reports

The information collected by Crimestoppers is seen as vital in building a better understanding of the scale of the problem, highlighting the people and venues involved. A second phase of the fake alcohol campaign is

Fake booze warning amid Christmas cheer

W

Crimestoppers website. At its heart was the aim of protecting our cherished democracy. Although

25

vibrant night life and high student

W

planned for late Summer 2018.

e launched our first counterfeit alcohol campaign in conjunction with

Business Development

Protecting our democracy

It concentrated in and around the information about anyone involved to contact us.

Digital and offline advertising platforms were used to spread the message across all age groups and backgrounds, reaching over 3 million people. The advice pages on our website received over 10,000 hits from people keen to learn more about protecting themselves and those they care about.

We greatly value our partnership with the Post Office which, in their words, “enables us to actively demonstrate our commitment to combatting crime and protecting our staff and customers in the communities in which we operate.”

The Post Office added that Crimestoppers’ knowledge and professionalism in regards to both integrity services and campaigns has been of “great value.”

www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555 111

5m Showing the potentially lethal ingredients contained in fake alcohol.

people reached, resulting in a rise in information passed to the police.

hilst less than 0.05% of bank notes in circulation are fake, where it does happen it can be at the expense of the most vulnerable and can harm communities by enriching criminal gang networks.

With a focus on community protection, we ran our fourth counterfeit notes campaign leading up to Christmas 2017,

working alongside the Bank of England.

Many retailers, charities and older people have been conned out of money using fake notes. The National Crime Agency warns that proceeds continue to fund other serious criminal activities.

Previously, our campaigns have had a visibly darker look and feel and have used stark messaging to convey the jail terms and fines.

This year the campaign artwork had a softer edge and the messaging was more of a friendly ‘tap on the shoulder’ rather than threatening.

The campaign, using the refreshed Crimestoppers brand, was also informed by our charity-wide research which revealed that a softer, more empathetic and communityminded approach is more effective in garnering public support.

The campaign had a combined reach of 5 million people, resulting in a 4.4% rise in information being passed to police about those involved in this crime.

We look forward to building on the success of this campaign and our partnership with the Bank of England.

26

Thank You

Impact Report 2017 -18

Thank you

Partnerships

Trusts and Foundations

Trustees

The crucial contributions from dozens of trusts and foundations help us run projects that positively change lives, both now and in the future. We have been supported by many over the years, and our special gratitude is offered to the following:

Our trustees not only have a legal responsibility for the running of our charity but also take a vital lead, offering advice and guidance on how we can improve our work.

Liberty

All England Lawn Tennis Club

Link ATM

Bank of England

Lloytron

BE Consultancy

Long Clawson Dairy

BOC

MHRA

British Horseracing Authority

Morrisons

Carlisle Support Services

Muller

Charity Fraud Line

National Farmers’ Union

Mr Zameer Choudrey CBE

Charity Retail Association

Next

Mr Peter Clarke CVO OBE QPM

County Durham and Darlington Fire Service

NHS Counter Fraud Authority

Electoral Commission

NHS Scotland

Energy Theft Tip Off Service

Northern Powergrid

England and Wales Cricket Board

Openreach

Environment Agency

Post Office

ESRI UK

Royal Mail

Federation Against Copyright Theft

Save the Children

First Central Insurance

Scottish Football Association

Dr David Hammond FCA

Food Standards Scotland

Selectamark

Mr Michael Laurie CBE

Gambling Commission

Security Industry Authority

Grant Thornton

Thames Water

Harod Associates

The Industry Trust

Henry Squires

Tideway

HSBC

Trading Standards

Independent Press Standards Organisation

Transport for London

Insurance Fraud Bureau

UKAD

Intellectual Property Office

William Hill

Ladbrokes Coral

WSTA

Chairman of Trustees Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC

Law enforcement community

Ms Angela Entwistle

• Police and Crime Commissioners • The Home Office • National law enforcement agencies • Individual police officers and staff who

work with Crimestoppers on a daily basis

We believe everyone has the right to feel safe from crime: from communities to companies; for ourselves and all those we care about. Our commercial and public sector supporters play a hugely important role. They share our values and help boost our charity’s profile to wider audiences.

Association of Convenience Stores

• Bestway Foundation • Peacock Charitable Trust • Ingram Trust • Garfield Weston Foundation

The police and other law enforcement agencies are at the heart of what we do. Together, we work to protect communities and people we care about.

A heartfelt thank you to the following for funding campaigns to tackle specific types of crimes:

Thank You

www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555 111

Trustees

Sir Ronnie Flanagan GBE MA Mr Richard Gamble FCA Ms Ceris Gardner Mr Bill Griffiths CBE BEM QPM

Mr Vivian Robinson QC Mr Nick Ross Mr Stephen Rubin OBE Mr Robert Scott CBE Sir Paul Stephenson QPM

27

28

Finance

Impact Report 2017 -18

Financial highlights

Finance

29

Summary Consolidated Statement Of Financial Activities

Increasing activity - producing improved financial performance - alongside a significant investment in technology, bodes well for the future.

For the year ended 31 March 2018 2018

2017

£’000

£’000

Income from charitable activities

2,760

2,649

Donations & legacies

1,649

1,727

743

629

-

4

5,152

5,009

4,432

4,336

739

804

5,171

5,140

(19)

( (131)

Actuarial gains on pension scheme

38

23

Net movement in funds

19

(108)

Total income

Other trading activities

2017/18 has once again seen increased revenues, turning last year’s deficit into a surplus. A number of significant technological and communications projects have also finally come to fruition.

These investments will provide valuable assistance for improved financial performance in the coming years.

Investment income

Total income up 3% to a new high of £5,151,996.

Total income and endowments Total expenditure Charitable activities Expenditure on raising funds Total expenditure Net movement in funds before pension scheme Deficit

Income from our 24/7 Contact Centre up 8% to £2,308,388.

Bob Booker, Director of Finance

www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555 111

Summary Consolidated Balance Sheet As at ended 31 March 2018

Summarised financial statements The summarised financial statements are not the statutory accounts but a summary of information relating to the consolidated statement of financial activities and the consolidated balance sheet derived from the full audited trustees’ report and financial statements of the charity, which were approved by the board of trustees on 18 July 2018. The auditor’s statement as prescribed by the Companies Act 2006 was unqualified. Copies of the full annual financial statements will subsequently be filed with the Charity Commission, the Office of the Scottish Charities

Regulator and Companies House. These summarised financial statements may not contain sufficient information to gain a complete understanding of the financial affairs of the charity. The full audited trustees’ report and financial statements are available on the charity’s website www.crimestoppers-uk.org or may be obtained on application to the charity’s central office.

David B Hammond FCA Trustee 18 July 2018

2018

2017

£’000

£’000

324

390

2,537

2,146

(1,508)

(1,168)

(35)

(69)

1,318

1,299

Restricted by donors

562

611

Unrestricted

756

688

1,318

1,299

Fixed assets Current assets Creditors falling due within one year Pension scheme deficit Total net assets How our funds are held

Total funds

30

Statement

Impact Report 2017 -18

www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555 111

Statement

31

Auditor’s statement Independent Auditor’s statement to the Trustees of Crimestoppers Trust.

“We have examined the summarised consolidated financial statements of Crimestoppers Trust for the year ended 31 March 2018 which comprise the extracts from the Statement of Financial Activities and the Balance Sheet set out on page 29.

This statement is made solely to the trustees, as a body in order to meet the requirements of Accounting and Reporting

by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice revised 2015. Our work has been undertaken so that we might state to the trustees those matters we have agreed to state to them in this statement and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity’s trustees as a body, for our work, for this statement, or for the opinions we have formed.”

Respective responsibilities of trustees and auditor

Basis of opinion

Opinion

The trustees are responsible for preparing the summarised financial statements in accordance with the requirements of section 427 of the Companies Act 2006 and regulations made thereunder and recommendations of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice.

Our responsibility is to report to you our opinion on the consistency of the summarised financial statements on this page within

the Annual Review with the full financial statements and trustees’ report and its compliance with the relevant requirements of section 427 of the Companies Act and the regulations made thereunder. We also read the other information contained in the Annual Review and consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the summarised financial statements.

We conducted our work in accordance with Bulletin 2008/3 ‘The auditors’ statement on the summary financial statement’ issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the United

Kingdom. Our report on the full annual financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2018 describes the basis of our opinion on those financial statements.

In our opinion the summarised financial statements set out on this page are consistent with the full financial statements and the Trustees’ Annual Report of Crimestoppers Trust for the year ended 31 March 2018 and complies with the relevant requirements of section 427 of the Companies Act

2006 and regulations made thereunder.

We have not considered the effects of any events between the date on which we signed our report on the full annual financial statements (31 July 2018) and the date of this statement.

Mazars LLP, Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors Times House, Throwley Way, Sutton, Surrey SM1 4JQ, 31 July 2018

Crimestoppers

in numbers 32

2017/ 18

This year over 450,000 people

contacted us aboutImpact a crime.

Report 2017 -18 That’s 50,000 more than last year.

of crimes

We helped solve

and prevent

26,000

crimes.

We have a community

of 150,000

social media

followers

32%

We trained

500

professionals working with young people.

45% of

reported

are aged

by the public

online.

86% of people

in the UK have heard about

Crimestoppers.

anonymously

by BAME communities.

65% of

crimes were

were reported

callers

35 or

younger.