News & Events

News

Jail-A-Thon

Crime Stoppers of Halton will be hosting a Jail-A-Thon at the Hopedale Mall on Rebecca Street at Third Line in Oakville to raise funds for the program.

The event will be held from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, October 17 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 18, 2007.

A presiding judge will be on hand at the mall’s indoor courtyard to incarcerate those facing charges and set the bail that must be posted before they can be released.

If there’s someone you want to see behind bars, contact Halton Crime Stoppers at 905-825-4747 ext. 5139 and make a $100 donation to arrange for their arrest.

It’s a fun event, so all participants will be notified in advance and given opportunity to arrange with friends to help them collect money for bail.

This is a community event and Crime Stoppers wants people to drop by the mall anytime during the event to see our collection of jailbirds.

Violent Sex Assault and Crime Stopper Reenactment

Halton Crime Stoppers has been requested to assist Calgary Crime Stoppers by publicizing a composite drawing of a man sought in a sexual assault who may have moved to Alberta from Ontario prior to November 2007.

Please call Halton Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1800-222-8477 if you have any information that will help identify this individual.

The Calgary Police Service through a Calgary Crime Stoppers reenactment is looking for information on a brutal sexual assault that occurred in the Beltline area last year.

On Sunday, November 4, 2007, at approximately 2:30 a.m., a 23-year-old woman was walking in the area, when she was approached by a man who attempted to engage her in a conversation. When the woman refused to respond, the suspect violently attacked and sexually assaulted her. The victim was seriously injured as a result of the incident. At the time, police were not able to confirm the location of this assault; however subsequent interviews with the victim have determined the random attack occurred in a parking lot on the north side of 10 Avenue, west of 6 Street S.W. Following the assault, police released a composite sketch of the suspect. Additional interviews with the victim have led police to update this sketch. A copy will be sent to the media via e-mail. The suspect in this incident is still at large. Police have reason to believe he may be from Ontario and had sought work in Calgary around the time of the assault. He is described as having a medium skin tone, possibly of East Indian descent, approximately 25-years-old, with a thin build, 5’ 6” to 5’ 8” tall, approximately 170 pounds, with short, dark-brown, wavy hair and a goatee. At the time of the attack, the suspect was wearing a three-quarter-length brown coat and blue jeans. The suspect had no accent.

Halton Crime Stoppers Coordinator
Named Ontario’s Coordinator of the Year

Sergeant Gary Gold, coordinator of Crime Stoppers of Halton, was named Coordinator of the Year at the annual Ontario Crime Stoppers training conference.

The award was announced yesterday (Monday) at the closing banquet of the three day conference which was held this year in Hamilton.

Sergeant Gold, who was appointed coordinator of the Halton Crime Stoppers program in January 2007, has worked diligently to introduce new projects and enhance Crime Stoppers in the region’s secondary schools.

“It is an honour and privilege to be recognized with this prestigious award,” Gold said. “It is also a tribute to the staff, board members, volunteers and everyone in the community who promotes and supports Halton Crime Stoppers. The accomplishments of the program are the result of a team effort.”

Halton Crime Stoppers chair, Tom Suddaby, also recognized the support of everyone, but said Sergeant Gold single-handedly worked to identify concerns and find solutions to improve the program.

“We had reached a certain plateau and were moving forward comfortably,” Suddaby said. “We needed the push that Sergeant Gold provided to lift us to new levels. Throughout the year he breathed new life into Crime Stoppers and helped improve the profile of the program throughout the region. He really deserves the Coordinator of the Year award for what he has contributed to Halton Crime Stoppers.”

The award committee acknowledged the effort Sergeant Gold made to organize a three-day fundraising bicycle ride from Burlington to Windsor to raise funds for the program and for his efforts to design and develop an interactive computerized promotional initiative to encourage young people to call Crime Stoppers if they become aware of any type of criminal activity, including drugs and weapons in their schools. 

The video presentation replaced an outdated PowerPoint presentation which had been utilized for a number of years to acquaint high school students with the Crime Stoppers concept. The video component produced by students enrolled in the Interactive Multimedia program at Sheridan College in Oakville has also been incorporated on the Halton Crime Stoppers’ web site and lets young people know that Crime Stoppers now has the ability to take tips anonymously via text messaging.

Prior to being appointed to Crime Stoppers, Sergeant Gold was coordinator for Education Services and supervised the Halton Region Police staff who were responsible for delivering the DARE program. Sergeant Gold has worked as a high school liaison officer, Education Services officers and as a community foot patrol officer.

He also served as the police liaison to the DARE board of directors and a volunteer on the board for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Halton. Currently, he sits on a provincial sub-committee for the Ontario Association of Crime Stoppers.

In addition to the fundraising bicycle ride which ran this year from Windsor to coincide with the opening of the Ontario Crime Stoppers training conference at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Sergeant Gold also assisted in making improvements to the managing and tracking process for tips received by Halton Crime Stoppers, as well as expanding the partnership with media in Halton through the creation of a Crime of the Week program on Cogeco Cable.\

When submitting Sergeant Gold’s name for the Coordinator of the Year nomination, the Halton Crime Stoppers board of directors said apart from his significant accomplishments, he displays a combination of professionalism, interpersonal skills, commitment and creativity.

Crime Stoppers of Halton is Looking for Golfers to Help Fight Crime

They don’t want them using their clubs to go out on patrol, but hope they will participate in the Crime Stoppers charity golf tournament to be held June 17th at the Blue Springs Golf Club in Acton.

Golf tournament Chair Suzanne Algar said “This is a major fundraising event for Halton’s Crime Stoppers program.  The $225 registration fee includes lunch, a 1 p.m. shotgun start, prizes, entertainment, a wonderful roast beef dinner and a $50. tax receipt for each individual golfer”. 

“Blue Springs is one of the top rated golf courses and is headquarters for the Canadian Professional Golfers’ Association.  With a limited number of golfers this year, we anticipate we will reach our goal quickly, however, we hope to encourage support from businesses and individuals throughout the Halton Community with Hole Sponsorships and donations of prizes for a Live Auction and raffle”.  

Crime Stoppers coordinator, Sergeant Gary Gold, said since this is the first time since 2001 they have held a golf tournament, participation will be limited to 88 golfers.

“Our tournament this year will target a more relaxed and personable atmosphere with no line ups and no over crowded dining areas.” he said. “We want to make sure everyone has a great time and will want to return and support this Crime Stoppers event in the years to come.”

Gold said anyone wishing to register for the tournament or those requiring further information should contact the Crime Stoppers office at 905-825-4747 ext 5139.

High School Program
Logo Contest Winner

Bonita Tsai, a Grade 12 Burlington Central High School student was presented with a Toronto Maple Leaf jersey from hockey great Doug Gilmour after her design was chosen in a contest to promote Halton’s revamped Student Crime Stoppers program.

Posters headlining the words i call and the message i hear – i see – i call are being put up in all high school throughout Halton Region to encourage students to contact Crime Stoppers by phone, via the secure web site or through text messaging if they have information that will assist in solving a crime.

The redesigned high school program incorporates the latest technology to create awareness, including a video message prepared by Sheridan College students, highlighting the communication tools that can be used to contact Crime Stoppers today.

Sergeant Gary Gold, Halton’s Crime Stoppers coordinator said the program has been an effective weapon in the fight against crime as well as a preventing crime since being established here in 1988.

Gold said student must also understand that all crimes have victims and it’s part of being a good citizen to make sure police get tips that will assist in solving crime.