Crime Stoppers tips 'invaluable' as York Region sees increased levels of violence: police

Police in York Region say tips from the public are "invaluable" amid increasingly violent crimes, especially those involving multiple suspects.

Jim MacSween, chief of York Regional Police, said Tuesday that tips sent to Crime Stoppers make a big difference to police investigations.

"The work you do is invaluable to helping our members solve crimes through garnering anonymous tips recognized with cash rewards," he said, thanking the service. January marks Crime Stoppers month, he said. 

MacSween said police have seen "significant levels of increased violence" not just in York Region, but also in Toronto, Peel and Durham Regions. Last year, the region saw armed robberies, home invasions and carjackings.

"And in a lot of cases, there's that one little tidbit of information that we might find in a Crime Stoppers tip that will allow us to take an investigation and move it further and potentially solve it," he said. 

Over 3,100 tips received through Crime Stoppers last year

Crime Stoppers of York Region received 3,153 tips in 2024.

MacSween said the tips led to 103 arrests, the clearing of 81 cases and 445 charges. Thanks to tips, 25 dangerous weapons were also seized, more than $2.6 million in stolen property was recovered and $4.5 million worth of drugs were taken off the street.

Crime Stoppers of York Region, which describes itself as "a partnership of the public, the police, and the media," enables people to report crimes anonymously to help police solve crimes.

Tipsters can report details by calling or going online. There is "no personal information taken, no call display, encrypted email" and the information is passed onto York Regional Police.

At the news conference, Det.-Sgt. Ryan Boulay, of York Regional Police's hold up squad, showed security camera videos of violent home invasions and violent armed robberies in which police are still seeking suspects.

"We are seeing multiple suspects more and more often. In some cases, as we've seen in the jewelry store instance, we're seeing up to 12 suspects being involved in one incident at a time," Boulay said.

Many investigations 'driven by tips,' police say

Boulay said the complex nature of crimes means that tips given by members of the public to Crime Stoppers are extremely important to police.

"The relationship between police services and Crime Stoppers is invaluable," Boulay said.

"I mean, a lot of our investigations are driven by tips that are coming in through Crime Stoppers, which is the reason that we're seeing a lot of the successes in these cases that we're arresting offenders in."

Boulay said police appeal to the public whenever they issue a news release and therefore deal with Crime Stoppers daily.

As for the increased levels of violence, Boulay said they are not only occurring in commercial settings.

"These are brazen incidents that are occurring in the safety of people's homes. It highlights what uniform members are dealing with day in and day out on the road," he said.

"Anyone that has concerns for providing information due to fear of safety absolutely is encouraged to go through Crime Stoppers," he added.