Crime Stoppers serving all of Linn County

Late last year, the Cedar Rapids Crime Stoppers concluded that it would better serve the community if the tip reward practice would be expanded to include all of Linn County. They proposed this idea to the county and found support for the move.

The first half of 2010 has been spent in expanding the board of directors and establishing a legal entity by registering the Articles of Incorporation, formalizing the bylaws, obtaining an Employment Identification Number and submitting for tax exemption. The purpose was to establish the group as a charitable entity so donors could use their donations for a tax deduction.

The board of directors was expanded to 17 seats. The representatives are from each of the cities that have a formal police department and three from Linn County at large. Hiawatha is allocated one representative as is Robins, Lisbon and Mount Vernon. Marion has three and Cedar Rapids has seven.

The purpose of the Linn County Crime Stoppers Inc. is to promote public safety. The primary function is support of the tip hot line 1-800-CSCRIME. If you have information of a crime that has been, or will be, committed that will help our police departments to arrest the culprit or prevent the crime, you may be eligible for an award. Your name is kept confidential and the information is provided to the police department of the impacted city. Should your be instrumental in establishing a legal arrest warrant, you will be considered for a reward.

Martin T. Bruns

Crime Stoppers

Hiawatha