Cuyahoga County leaders announce new efforts to remove crime guns from our communities

CLEVELAND – Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish, along with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office and Crime Stoppers of Cuyahoga County Coordinator Bill Jelenic, announced a new Crime Stoppers Crime Gun Initiative.
 
The goal of the Crime Gun Initiative is to remove crime guns from our communities—firearms that have been illegally possessed and used to commit a crime.  

“We are witnessing an explosion of violent crime, and we are offering a program to help stop the killing,” said County Executive Armond Budish. “There is no one, simple solution. This is a complex issue that needs to be attacked with urgency and vigilance, and we hope this program provides the motivation to get people from every aspect of our society involved, so we can, together, work to make our streets safer."  

Details of the Crime Gun Initiative include the following: 

• Crime Stoppers has established a dedicated hotline, 241-TIPS (8477), specifically for tips related to crime guns. 
• Tips can remain anonymous and are eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $250, for a tip that leads to an arrest or indictment.
• This is NOT a replacement for 9-1-1. This hotline should not be used to report crimes in progress or emergency situations  

 “It’s important that we find new strategies in eliminating crime guns from our neighborhoods. As we continue to collaborate between federal and local resources, our most important resource is YOU.” said Crime Stoppers of Cuyahoga County Board of Directors President Dr. Rustom Khouri. “An initiative like this cannot succeed without the support from our residents. If you know or suspect that a crime gun has been illegally possessed and used in a crime, do the right thing and let Crime Stoppers know.”    

Crime Stoppers of Cuyahoga County operates as an independent organization, dedicated to providing local law enforcement with information about crimes and criminals. Reward money paid out by the program is raised through fundraising and private donations, and $100,000 allocated by the county over the biennium to kickstart the program. Crime Stoppers has proven itself to be a successful program, not only in Cuyahoga County, but nationwide.  

For more information about Crime Stoppers of Cuyahoga County, please visit:
http://www.25crime.com/.