A record number of calls to a crime-fighting charity have foiled terror attacks, thwarted acid attacks on vulnerable women and led to the arrests of thousands of drug dealers in London.
Crimestoppers received 572,480 anonymous tips from the public last year, a nine per cent rise on 2022.
Around 57,251 reports sent to the Metropolitan and City of London Police forces solved 16,160 crimes.
Murders, rescuing children from sexual abuse and county lines gangs, and pinpointing arsenals of hidden weapons and ammunition are among successes.
Reporters from the Standard were invited to Crimestoppers’ secret headquarters to see how staff guarantee complete anonymity to millions calling the 24-hour UK Contact Centre.
The base – an office block south of London chosen for its lack of features – is where the underbelly of crime is exposed.
Fifty-five call handlers receive information each day from the most surprising of whistleblowers and witnesses who would never approach the police themselves.
A bomb plot was prevented by a member of the terrorist cell who actually planted the device, but then got cold feet.
Teenage murderers have been arrested after being named by other gang members who played lesser roles in the crime. Wanted fugitives hiding in Spain were located because friends fell out.
Crimestoppers’ national hotline for the public to report corrupt, racist or misogynistic police officers is leading to scores of misconduct probes.
Chief Executive Mark Hallas said: “People contacting Crimestoppers are making a difference, helping to bring criminals to justice and preventing further harm.
“Calls come from a variety of sources who simply want to get it off their chest. It could be a scorned woman or one drug dealer telling us about a rival.
“We are an equal opportunities receiver of information. Our unique selling point is anonymity because of the fear of reprisals or retribution.”
The charity, which is independent of the police, understands there are barriers stopping some people speaking directly to forces, including the crime taking place too close to home, loyalty, cultural beliefs and previous experiences of the law in the UK or abroad.
Crimestoppers often offers rewards for information but only five per cent asks and receives one.
During the trial of Thomas Cashman, Liverpool nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s killer, his former partner denied she had given evidence for the organisation’s unprecedented £200,000 reward.
Charlie, an agent we met during out visit, takes a call: “I know a mother and her two sons who deal drugs. They meet users in a wood at the end our road.”
The person gives names, addresses and car registrations. The call ends abruptly as Charlie, 25, a former NHS cancer coordinator, has been trained not push too hard.
No details of the phone number are displayed because it has been scrambled. The information is sent to local police to mount an investigation.
Another tipster offers: “I’m disgusted this could happen to an old lady in our community. Sorry, you just don’t hit Nans.”
Charlie starts his shift at 7am, sitting down with a cup of coffee and says “no two days are the same”.
“The calls and online submissions don’t stop,” he adds.
“It could be something simple or the worse call you may have ever had.
“Nine times out of ten, people have already decided the level of information they are going to divulge and they don’t say much due to repercussions.
“A lot want to protect their community or themselves, even if a reward is offered they say they’re not interested.
“You might have a 80-year-old in Kent or a 15-year-old in London who has just witnessed something.
“Even if they give me their name to validate the information, I tell them it won’t go into the report to police.
“I’ve had one from Northern Ireland where someone is about to be shot by the IRA. You have to deal with that sort of case immediately.”
Louise Peers, head of contact centre services, said: “We are here for people who don’t want to speak to the police.
“Agents typically say calls about sexual assault cases involving children are the worse.“Paedophilia, sexual assault and rape can be really upsetting and very triggering.
“From my experience, it terms of pressure and workplace stress the counter-terrorism calls are really difficult. They may not be as emotional but the pressure to get things right is time critical.“Staff can come off shift and be referred for counselling.”
