What we do with your information

What happens after I give information?

After receiving your call or a completed anonymous online form, we create a report that brings together all the information you gave us, making sure it doesn't contain any information that could identify you. Where inaccurate information is passed with malicious intent, we will work with law enforcement officers to help them try to identify the source.

Who is my report sent to?

Your report is sent to the relevant authority with the legal responsibility to investigate crimes, make arrests and charge people in order to bring them to justice. This could be your local police force or an agency such as the UK Border Agency or HM Revenue & Customs.

There may be times when information received by Crimestoppers is passed on to our trusted partner organisations. Crimestoppers will only share this information to help keep communities and workplaces safe.

How long does it take before action is taken on my information?

 When your report is given to law enforcement, they need to:

• thoroughly research the information you have given in order to act on it
• make sure that information is accurate and not given with the intention of 'setting someone up'
• have other intelligence that supports the information received from us.

The police cannot get a search warrant or make an arrest based solely on anonymous information. It takes time to research and investigate a crime, but your information goes a long way to helping the police make arrests.

Once the information has been researched, law enforcement will allocate this to an appropriate officer or team to deal with. This could mean more research, or action may be taken.

Why did nothing happen after I contacted Crimestoppers?

We can't influence how long it can take for law enforcement to act on information you have given. There could be many reasons for the process taking time:

• the information may be crucial to a larger investigation where action may take place later on,
• the information may remain on file which helps to solve crime at a later date, or
• more information may be required before action can be taken.

So even if you don't see a quick resolution, don't think your information hasn't been of use.

• Get cash rewards for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
• Follow up with more information through our anonymous keeping in contact communication.
• Learn which information we cannot use and who to contact if we cannot help you.
• Read all about our anonymity guarantee.

5 November 2024