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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 4, 20 18 | 12 The arrival of January 2018 has special signifi- cance for Crime Stoppers of Halton. It is the launch of Crime Stoppers Month and the beginning of a celebration to mark the 30th anniver- sary of Halton Crime Stop- pers. Cal Millar, the chair of Halton Crime Stoppers, will officially kick off Crime Stoppers Month during a presentation to the Probus Women's Club of Burlington on Thurs- day, Jan. 4 at the Burling- ton Art Gallery. A reception will also be held Jan. 22 in the rotunda at the Halton Regional Centre to recognize spon- sors, the media, law en- forcement partners, sup- porters and volunteers. Crime Stoppers Month has been held each year in January by Crime Stop- pers programs worldwide after first being pro- claimed in 1986 at the an- nual Crime Stoppers In- ternational conference in Edmonton, Alta. In addition to recogniz- ing those who support crime solving initiatives in the community, Crime Stoppers Month gives the opportunity to local Crime Stoppers programs to release annual statis- tics, reveal priorities and announce the program's theme for the year. Last year board mem- bers with Halton Crime Stoppers adopted - "See Something, Hear Some- thing, Say Something" - as the 2017 motto, but now di- rectors have changed the "Say Something" to "Know Something" and have in- cluded a call to action by adding the words "Contact Crime Stoppers" to the message. The 2018 theme recom- mended to the more than 1,700 programs around the globe was "Recognizing Transnational Organized Crime," however, the board of directors of Hal- ton Crime Stoppers decid- ed building on their cur- rent theme is a more ap- propriate message for lo- cal residents. The international theme was chosen because of what Dave Forster, pres- ident of the Canadian Crime Stoppers Associa- tion, described as the con- tinued increase in human trafficking and the infil- tration of contraband and counterfeit goods, often under the direction of or- ganized crime groups. He also cited the growing threat of cybercrimes and the global poaching of en- dangered wildlife as key targets for Crime Stop- pers. Det. Const. Jodi Rich- mond, co-ordinator of Hal- ton's Crime Stoppers pro- gram, acknowledged hu- man trafficking, poaching and cybercrime do occur here, but are not consid- ered major crime prob- lems in this area. "Local residents want to know our streets are safe and Halton's various communities remain among the safest areas in Canada for people to live, work and play," she said. Like all communities, Burlington, Oakville, Mil- ton and Halton Hills have their share of nuisance crime such as vandalism, graffiti and thefts, but vio- lent crime is a rare occur- rence in the region. Crime Stoppers of Hal- ton was officially formed in 1988 and our most re- cent statistics show the program has been respon- sible for solving 2,172 cases, the arrest of 1,185 in- dividuals, the recovery of $2,734,747 in stolen prop- erty and the seizure of $18,098,333 in drugs. (The complete accumulative and annual statistics will be released at the Jan. 22 open house along with rec- ognizing our major sup- porters.) A preliminary review of statistics shows Halton Crime Stoppers had tre- mendous success in 2017 but hoping for even great- er achievements during our 30th anniversary. Priorities so far identi- fied for 2018 will be replac- ing the Dodge Charger (proper model of car) which has served for a de- cade as Halton's Crime Stoppers vehicle, expand- ing the reach of Crime Stoppers to students across the region and im- proving service to seniors and newcomers to the area who may have difficulty communicating in En- glish. NEWS Crime Stoppers Halton celebrates 30 years January is Crime Stoppers Month and Halton Crime Stoppers is celebrating 30 years of getting bad people off the streets. Metroland file photo 280 Guelph St. - Hwy. 7 Georgetown • Tel. 905-873-8918 SPONSORED BY THE MERCHANTS AT GEORGETOWN MARKET PLACE JANUARY 13, 2018 11:00 - 11:40 11:50 - 12:30 12:45 - 1:15 1:30 - 2:10 2:25 - 3:00 PJ Masks © Frog Box/Ent. One UK Ltd/Disney 2018 Visit our Website: www.georgetownmarketplace.com Follow us on Facebook