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Tipsters Help to Solve Crimes in San Diego

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host
Published May 14, 2009 at 5:44 AM PDT
This story was published more than 15 years ago.

Tipsters Help to Solve Crimes in San Diego
What role does a community play in solving crimes? We'll look at how San Diego County Crime Stoppers has provided a place for the public to work with law enforcement on reporting crimes.

Maureen Cavanaugh: Most people who witness a crime feel an obligation to come forward and help police find the bad guys. But not everyone wants to do that publicly. So that's where San Diego County Crime Stoppers comes in.

We all are pretty familiar with how the Crime Stoppers tip line works. If you have information that could lead to an arrest in a felony crime, but, for one reason or another, you want to keep your name out of it, you call Crime Stoppers. This simple idea has lead to thousands of arrests in San Diego over the years and helped out local, state and even federal law enforcement agencies.

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What's not so simple is screening those tips and maintaining the Crime Stoppers' pledge to keep its informants anonymous, while helping police solve crime.

San Diego County Crime Stoppers tip line is #1 888 580-8477.

Guests

Sally Cox, executive director of San Diego County Crime Stoppers.

Jim Johnson, an officer with the San Diego Police Department and a law enforcement coordinator for San Diego County Crime Stoppers.

Maureen Cavanaugh
Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.
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