Inside Perry, Georgia
Inside Perry, Georgia
Community Call to Action: Inside Macon Regional Crimestoppers
In this episode, we sit down with Sergeant Greg Thomas and Sergeant Ike Wilcox to discuss the successful partnership between Macon Regional Crimestoppers and the Perry Police Department.
Macon Regional Crimestoppers
Website
Facebook
1-877-68CRIME
Perry Police Department
Website
Facebook
(478) 988-2800
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Welcome to the Inside Perry Podcast, where you get an inside look at Perry, Georgia's local government. We're glad you chose Perry where people make the difference. Whether you stay a few hours or a lifetime, your time in Perry will be rewarding and unforgettable. I'm Tabitha Clark, Communications Director for the City of Perry. Welcome to the Inside Perry Podcast. I'm Tabitha Clark, Communications Director for the City of Perry. And today we're talking about something near and dear to our law enforcement community here in the middle Georgia area and really beyond. But today I have with me Sergeant Greg Thomas from the Macon Regional Crime Stoppers. Sergeant Thomas, thanks so much for joining me.
Gregory Thomas:Thank you.
Tabitha Clark:All right. So we are talking about the Macon Regional Crime Stoppers Program. So for those who, I'm sure people have heard about it, but give me an overview of the program.
Gregory Thomas:Okay. So the Macon Regional Crime Stoppers Program, the inception date was the year 2000. It started with our chairman, Warren Selby Jr. and one other board member got together with a credit card.
Tabitha Clark:Okay, that sounds interesting. Continue.
Gregory Thomas:And started the idea of putting together a program that gives the public a, a confidential source to share what they know about crime and and wanted persons without the fear of retaliation to share what is known on the streets without the fear Because life on the streets is a lot different than what you and I know right and so then they started paying rewards That's where the credit card came in and as of the close of August The program has paid out 1 million 152, 000 plus dollars. Wow. And that is all from donations.
Tabitha Clark:Yeah, that was my next question. So donations are a huge part of this.
Gregory Thomas:Yeah. People care. There's a lot more good people in our communities than there are the criminal elements.
Tabitha Clark:Yeah. Absolutely. So it sounds like it's been a very successful program. I mean, 2000 24 years ago, but if you think of it in the short term, it's not really that long. Yeah. Awesome. So let's talk about submitting tips. So how does that process work?
Gregory Thomas:Okay. So first we don't have caller ID. We don't ask the qualifying questions related to the identity of the caller. What we do ask is the who, the what, the when, the where. And then we take that information and we give the number, or we give the caller a number. So in this scenario, you're a number.
Tabitha Clark:Oh, gotcha. Okay, so how often does the tip come through? Be accurate or I mean, do you just kind of investigate it and see what happens from there?
Gregory Thomas:Well what we do at the time that we receive the call we ask the caller to give us a call back in three to four days as a follow up. What we do is when we end the call we're going to verify The information, as long as the received information is good enough that allows us to verify. Sure, sure. And then once we verify the given information, we forward that to the appropriate law enforcement agency for them to follow up on. And then if an arrest is made, then we get a copy of what's called a booking sheet. That shows us the list of charges laid against the person or the warrants served. And then we calculate a reward. Based off the elements of the arrest. Okay, that's how we calculate the reward.
Tabitha Clark:I guess if they're anonymous do they have to come to you to get the award or how does that happen?
Gregory Thomas:This is the the just genius part of the program Yes, our chairman is extremely smart. We use truest bank to process our rewards and there's three locations that we use and so when a tipster calls us we have the option to give them the tip number one. We can also give them a website and a password that allows them to text back and forth with us. Oh nice. They can upload videos and photos to help build their tip information.
Tabitha Clark:Oh, wow. Okay.
Gregory Thomas:That leads to the apprehension. So they're building their information on their tip as they learn more.
Tabitha Clark:Oh.
Gregory Thomas:And, and then when the arrest is made, we get the notification, we calculate the reward. And then when they call us and they let us know which bank location they want to use, it's seven days, seven working days. Yeah. If it's local, if it's in the Warner Robins branch, because we're in downtown Macon. Um, it's ten days. And the reason why is because our treasurer has to take the check to the bank. At the designated date. And so The tipster calls us, lets us know what branch they want to use, we calculate the reward, we, we put together a payout request, we send that to the chairman, the treasurer gets a copy so she sees, once the chairman approves it, the treasurer cuts a check, takes it to the bank, then we notify the tipster of the date. And the amount, tipster goes to the bank, presents their tip number, boom.
Tabitha Clark:Wow, so no ID, no nothing, nice. That is pretty smart.
Gregory Thomas:And, and even the bank doesn't know who they are. Uh huh. And so, That's how we guarantee anonymity, keep everybody safe.
Tabitha Clark:I love that. Now we were talking previously beforehand about why communication is so key to fighting crime around here. Tell me a little bit about what we discussed earlier.
Gregory Thomas:People, would you agree that people are individuals?
Tabitha Clark:Yeah.
Gregory Thomas:Absolutely. And so you're going to have people who are going to obey law, and unfortunately you've got those that are just not going to obey law. Trust, plain and simple. Communication is the key in any relationship. When the public and law enforcement work together for the greater good of all, you build trust. You know, you're building bridges that, that last throughout the relation.
Tabitha Clark:Yeah, and I would think that that's also generational. Yeah, I mean because I know certain instances especially growing up in law enforcement that You know, it's sometimes it can be a family thing and they don't trust law enforcement way back you know, either their grandparents or you know another family member and like I said if you create that trust then That can be passed on to their children or their family members and kind of break that cycle,
Gregory Thomas:You know And another point too life in the streets Now, I mentioned earlier that it's so much different, and the reason it's so much different is because family's not what it used to be. You know, having to make ends meet's a whole lot different than what it used to be. So you find a lot of kids who have a lot of time on their hands. They don't have somebody to turn to.
Tabitha Clark:Right.
Gregory Thomas:You know? And so they end up turning to the streets. And that's where they're manipulated and pulled into and so forth and so on. However, they're smart enough to recognize right from wrong. And it's a choice. You know? And, and that's what life is. Choices.. So. Why do we protect those that make bad choices? Well, one, because generally it's somebody, you know, somebody you have in the family, right? There, there's enabling. There comes a time that you just simply have to cut ties and let them learn because there's just no way around it.
Tabitha Clark:So, We talked about donations earlier, so tell me about the different ways that your normal everyday citizen can help Macon Regional Crime Stoppers.
Gregory Thomas:When, whenever you see or even hear of a crime, call and share, no matter how small the detail. Because what you're doing is you're sharing what is known. So that we can relay to the investigators and add to what they've already got. That little piece of information may make the case.
Tabitha Clark:Yeah, I know several times where that's just the missing piece. Yeah, and that solves a major, major crime.
Gregory Thomas:Absolutely.
Tabitha Clark:It's insane.
Gregory Thomas:You know, our program covers the seven surrounding counties of Bibb. But we have facilitator to rest as far away as New York.
Tabitha Clark:Oh, wow.
Gregory Thomas:All the way over to Nevada. Yeah. All the way down far south as the tip of Florida.
Tabitha Clark:Wow, I didn't realize that.
Gregory Thomas:It's just making contact with the law enforcement agencies, sharing the information, and they're so appreciative. Oh, sure. You know, like, our office is in the U. S. Marshals Task Force office, and if we get information on true felons, those guys can act on it.
Tabitha Clark:Right. So, not just middle Georgia area, it's far reaching throughout the whole nation.
Gregory Thomas:Oh, yeah. Now, go But the Macon Regional Crime program is nationwide.
Tabitha Clark:So that's great. So you have that network of different places that you can pull from and partner with and Absolutely. So how can somebody connect with y'all, regardless of the tip?
Gregory Thomas:Yeah. All right. So. You can call Crime Crime directly, you know, 478 742 2330, 877 68 Crime, or you can call Perry PD, Detective Ike Wilcox, great guy, great guy.
Tabitha Clark:I know, I can see him right now.
Gregory Thomas:Our working partners, you know, the seven surrounding counties, they list us on their social media site, on their website. Social media reports, polos, and so when they have cases they need help with, so the public can call them. And then call us, or vice versa. Either way, you have to call us before the arrest is made. If you're working with law enforcement and sharing information with them, when you get through talking to them, turn around and call us. Gotcha. That way, you know, we can Use the program for what it's meant to be used for, and that's relay of information.
Tabitha Clark:Well, we're going to have that number and your website and your Facebook page all in the show notes. So, so that way it's easy to, to see and you know, and connect with y'all because you never know when you're going to witness a Crime. So that is a good, uh, You know, thing to have in the back of your head and access to. So Sergeant Thomas, I really appreciate you coming in. I actually learned something I've known about Crime Stoppers my entire life. And I mean, you learn something new every day.
Gregory Thomas:Absolutely.
Tabitha Clark:So, but thank you for your service and your board and the program just to make sure that our communities are safer.
Gregory Thomas:Well, if you will just let your listeners know how much we appreciate each of them because it's, it's the public sharing what they know that makes the difference.
Tabitha Clark:Thank you so much, Sergeant Thomas, with Macon Regional Crime Stoppers. Such an amazing program and something that everybody should be aware of. So super happy to have him on the podcast. Next up, I have somebody that has, is just as important, um, with the Perry Police Department. You've heard him before on this podcast, very busy, busy, Detective Ike Wilcox. So happy to have you here. So we've been talking about Macon Regional Crime Stoppers. So let's first talk about the partnership. that y'all have together?
Ike Wilcox:Yeah, no problem. First of all, I would like to thank Sergeant Thomas for his time and coming down and giving his explanation of the program. We utilize social media quite a bit, mainly through our Perry Police Department Facebook page. And if we post any type of criminal activity, a crime bulletin, for example, then you'll see in the end of that tag that we always make an effort to tag Macon Regional Crime Crime in with that. To my knowledge, that hasn't been utilized very much. And so my goal was to get Sergeant Thomas here and let him provide the explanation of the program and its functions, its anonymity, to provide an extra resource for those people who may know information and may have a desire to speak up but are concerned about repercussions later.
Tabitha Clark:Yeah, sure. Especially, I mean, especially if it is a major crime. I mean, I can imagine how scary that is, you know.
Ike Wilcox:And I did not start my law enforcement career in Perry, but what struck me when I first came and joined the Perry Police Department was the communication with the police from the community. And we have we, we take pride in that and we do our best to maintain that very good working relationship with our, with our general public. However, there may be that other case where we have someone that doesn't want to speak to us. And so now we have another option of Macon Regional Crime Stoppers to, to be able to get that information.
Tabitha Clark:Yeah, because both of you are right. I mean, it takes a community to actually help solve these Crimes, you know. So, Kind of walk me through it. So say somebody Submits a tip to Crime Stoppers on one of your cases or case in Perry. So what happens from there?
Ike Wilcox:It's simple Once Sergeant Thomas and his group receives the tip they handle their side of things as he's explained and they will simply pick up the phone and call usually directly to our case agent and provide that information and then you know, if there were anything like digital media that he mentioned can be uploaded online, then he would send that to us, whether it's fax, email, but it is a direct open line of communication directly to the lead agent of the case.
Tabitha Clark:That's so wonderful having that as an extra resource, I'm sure. And we talked a little bit about like the Facebook page with Perry PD and everything, and we always read the comments talking about, you know, especially if it's surveillance photos or, you know walmart or something like that. So give me the strategy behind what y'all do with the Perry Police Facebook page.
Ike Wilcox:Mainly, I would just like the public to know that that is only one tool that we use and we have quite a large Toolbox there there are times where we post photos of you know, suspects and crimes on Facebook but that does not mean that we don't have other investigative means going on in the background.
Tabitha Clark:That's right
Ike Wilcox:And we solve if not most of our crimes without the use of social media. And I'd like everyone to know that also. So Yeah, there have been people who have made comments about the amount of those that we post on Facebook But I can assure you that that is only a fraction of what our investigative division does on a daily basis.
Tabitha Clark:Right. It's kind of one of those behind the scenes things don't assume, you know, whatever you see on Facebook is true you know and and how hard y'all work like you said with other tools that you have.
Ike Wilcox:Well, I'd also like to say to that if we get a tip Uh, whether it be directly to us from Facebook or whether it comes through Sergeant Thomas and, and Crime Stoppers, that does not mean we go and automatically arrest someone. That gives us a lead. We still have to work to show their involvement in the crime.
Tabitha Clark:That is true.
Ike Wilcox:And more times than not, we actually, through our investigation, will eliminate a lot of the people that we've been told.
Tabitha Clark:Which is just as important,.
Ike Wilcox:Even more important. Um, you know, someone once told me the The best way to find out if someone's guilty is try to prove them innocent on another note We we don't update all the case statuses on Facebook. We usually just put the subject's been identified The reason we do that is because we may have identified that subject but we may have figured out that they were not a part of a crime..
Tabitha Clark:Yeah. And that, and that's important to remember. I mean, I love the fact about what you just said, you know, eliminating people that just puts you one step closer to finding who it was and solving that crime. It's amazing what happens behind the scenes. So I'm, I definitely want to get that, that point across is, you know, yeah, social media is great and it's a great tool. Sometimes it's, you know, can be a hindrance, you know, things like that. I'm sure, you know, very well on that. So as we close up, let's, uh, I want you to really tell people why the partnership between Macon Regional Crime Stoppers and Perry Police Department, our surrounding law enforcement agencies, why this is so important to make sure we understand what the program is and to utilize it if we ever need it.
Ike Wilcox:I think Sergeant Thomas hit the nail on the head is the people who use the program trust the program in that you can solve exponentially more Crimes. Through trust if you have trust from your community and the Macon Regional Crime Crime is just another outlet for that. You don't have to come direct directly to us if you you don't feel safe doing so. Absolutely, you can we will be here 24 hours a day. The Crime Stoppers program is a strong additional resource to the resources. We all already have in place the old saying you don't put all your eggs in one basket well, this is just another example of that. This is just another outlet that can immediately reach out through the overall middle Georgia area. But as he explained, it reaches nationwide. So it is a very valuable tool for us as investigators. We can contact them and they can provide us past information on someone they had tips on before if we need to. So it is a two way route of communication. Most importantly, through that, though, we're The tipster always remains anonymous.
Tabitha Clark:Like Sergeant Thomas said, with over a million plus in donations over the past 24 years. I mean, I'd say there was a lot of trust built on that program.
Ike Wilcox:Absolutely. And you know, I'm sure if there's anyone looking for a good cause to donate to that, that he would be glad to speak with you about that as well.
Tabitha Clark:Oh, absolutely. Detective Wilcox, thank you so much for coming in and I'm going to put the Perry Police Department Facebook and telephone and website on the show notes as well. If you ever, you know, experience a Crime, see a Crime, you're more than welcome to reach out directly to Detective Wilcox and his crew over there at the Criminal Investigations Division over at Perry Police and also Macon Regional Crime Stoppers. So thanks for joining me.
Ike Wilcox:Thank you.
Tabitha Clark:Thanks for listening to the Inside Perry podcast, your inside look at Perry's local government. Take a look at the show notes for more information about today's episode. If you like Inside Perry, we encourage you to subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family. We look forward to seeing you around in our amazing community where Georgia comes together.