Staffordshire’s PCC Urges People to Turn the Table on Criminals

The County’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Matthew Ellis, is urging Staffordshire people to turn the tables on criminals by contacting the Crimestoppers charity which has brought thousands of wrong-doers to justice.

The Commissioner’s call to action comes after he instigated the first ever direct promotion of the crime fighting charity as part of the 500,000 council tax bills which dropped through letterboxes across Staffordshire and Stoke last week.

Crimestoppers is the only charity that guarantees complete and total anonymity for anyone who contacts them with information about crime or criminals. And very often there’s a cash reward which can be claimed secretly by the person providing information.

Mr Ellis says it’s time to use the power of Staffordshire people to make life more ‘uncomfortable’ for criminals and wrong-doers than ever before.

He explained, “Criminality is anti-social to law abiding people. From the lowest level wrong-doing to the most serious crime, it affects us all either directly or through the cost to public services and ever increasing insurance premiums. Crime is comparatively low in most of Staffordshire but it’s time to turn the screw that bit further.

“Over the next few years I want society to play a bigger part in tackling crime than ever before. Doing that alongside the work of police and other agencies will mean criminals constantly looking over their shoulder and waiting for that knock at the door… or that door going in!

“Getting information about the Crimestoppers service through almost every letterbox in Staffordshire and Stoke at little extra cost because the council tax information was going out anyway seemed a powerful and cost effective thing to do.

“Using the population’s eyes and ears could be immensely powerful and see Staffordshire become as close to a no-go zone for crooks and criminality as is possible. It’s about galvanising community pressure and knowledge and making criminality an unwanted and antisocial thing to do. Crimestoppers provides anonymity so people can do their duty for Staffordshire in the fight against crime.”