[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 8, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6459-S6460]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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           RECOGNIZING THE GREATER KANSAS CITY CRIME STOPPERS

 Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, as co-chair of the Senate Law 
Enforcement Caucus, I call to the attention of my colleagues an 
effective public-private partnership that was pioneered by the Greater 
Kansas City Crime Stoppers.
  This partnership, which empowers citizens to assist law enforcement 
on behalf of public safety, has been a model for the Nation, and 
beyond.
  Crime Stoppers is separate from the police emergency phone system or 
other standard methods of contacting police, as it allows a member of 
the community to provide anonymous information about criminal activity. 
In 1982, the Kansas City Crime Commission launched a hotline for 
anonymous tips--Crime Stoppers. That first year, 30 tips came in, 
clearing 8 cases.
  Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers emerged as a top program, earning 
global recognition. In 1999, Sergeant Craig Sarver of the Kansas City 
Police Department was named International--Crime Stoppers--Coordinator 
of the Year.
  An innovator, Sergeant Sarver nurtured an idea that has evolved into 
a common tool for law enforcement.
  In the summer of 2002, 19-year-old Ali Kemp was murdered in the pump 
house at a community swimming pool near Kansas City. Her father, Roger 
Kemp, suggested to police and the local office of Lamar Advertising 
Company that billboards could help find the killer.
  Eventually, a tip generated by donated billboards helped resolve this 
case. A suspect was arrested in Connecticut, tried, and convicted.
  Since then, ``wanted'' billboards have led to arrests in more than 20 
murder cases in the Kansas City area. Sarver, who retired in 2008 after 
33 years on the force, cites two reasons why billboards help generate 
solid tips for police.
  First, he says, is the frequency of the message. Tipsters have said 
they had seen ``wanted'' billboards multiple times before they shared 
tips. Second is the emphasis on anonymity, important to those who fear 
retribution, according to Sergeant Sarver.
  Now this tactic--to feature a tip line number on billboards along 
with a suspect's photo--is a common tool for law enforcement. In 2007 
in Philadelphia, the FBI starting using donated electronic ``digital'' 
billboards to help find fugitives. The FBI calls these high-tech signs 
``force multipliers.'' Tips generated by digital billboards have 
resolved 53 FBI cases.
  State and local police also rely on billboards to communicate with 
the public. After two inmates escaped prison in upstate New York in 
early June, New York State Police activated 50 digital billboards in 
four states.
  Near St. Louis, a motorist opened fire on an Illinois State trooper 
during a traffic stop on June 23. The trooper was not injured, but the 
shooter fled. In southern Illinois, the District 11 State Police office 
is located near Mid America Outdoor Advertising in Collinsville, IL. 
Shortly after police asked Mid America for help, the suspect's photo 
appeared on a digital billboard along a high-traffic interstate en 
route to St. Louis. The suspect was arrested by the end of the week.
  In Elyria, OH, the sheriff says 12 fugitives have been arrested 
thanks to tips prompted by digital billboards. Lorain County Sheriff 
Phil R. Stammitti describes these long-sought individuals as ``very 
hard to locate.''

[[Page S6460]]

  Neil Mahan, the retired police chief from Janesville, WI, says 
billboards help police apprehend suspected criminals and deliver other 
information to the public. ``For example,'' he wrote in The Police 
Chief magazine, ``an elderly female suffering from Alzheimer's disease 
wandered away from family at a local shopping mall and was found by a 
citizen using the digital billboard information. When spring floods 
along the Rock River posed significant danger to the public, billboards 
were used to post warnings about the danger.''
  In conclusion, we know that public safety is enhanced when citizens 
are empowered to help law enforcement. I commend the Kansas City Crime 
Commission and Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers for their 
contributions in advancing a new communications tool that aides the 
cause of safety.

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