Brief

Introduction

Crimestoppers is an independent charity established to assist the Police and other law enforcement agencies to catch criminals and solve crimes in order to create safer communities. This service allows members of the community to provide anonymous information about criminal activity. It thereby allows the person to provide crime solving assistance to the authorities without being directly involved in the investigation process. That person could also be eligible for a reward if the reported information results in an arrest and/or prosecution.


History

Crime Stoppers first began in Albuquerque, New Mexico during July 1976 which saw the fatal shooting of a university co-ed working one night at a local filling station. After two weeks the police had no information when out of desperation Detective Greg MacAleese approached the local television station requesting a reconstruction of the crime. The re-enactment offered US$ 1,000.00 for information leading to the arrest of the killers.

Within 72 hours, a person called in identifying a car leaving the scene at high speed and he had noted its registration. The person calling said that he did not want to get involved so he had not called earlier. Detective MacAleese then realized that fear and apathy were the primary reasons why the public tended not to get involved. So he helped design a system where the public could anonymously provide details of the events.

Crimestoppers became successful in the US and UK and was established in NZ as a result of the theft of the Victoria Crosses from Army Museum. This bought together Lord Ashcroft and the Commissioner of Police, who provided a reward for the medals return, creating the impetus for the establishment of Crimestoppers New Zealand. The medals were returned undamaged.

Assignment Brief

Crime Stoppers was developed to combat the public's fear of reprisals, public apathy, and a reluctance to get involved. The program provides anonymity (callers are given a code number instead of being asked for their name and calls are not traced or recorded) and pays rewards when their information leads to an arrest and/or conviction. Within New Zealand, Crimestoppers is still a relatively unknown organization and they want to create public awareness of their services to the community.

Specifics

Target Audience
Our Target Audience will consist predominantly of New Zealand Males between the age of 13-17 who are computer literate and are exposed to crime, but are intimidated by fear of reprisal. However because this is a launch campaign we do not wish to restrict who is addressed. Creating awareness of this service to the New Zealand public is our main intent.


Single Minded Proposition
Remain anonymous. Remove crime.

Support For Proposition
Research into why the Target Audience would not call the police. Making the public understand the potential power of this service, especially to the T/A and why this group of people would need to call Crime Stoppers.

Style & Tone
Informative, empowering and Sympathetic to the Target Audiences situation.