Crime Stoppers of York County

In York County, Crime Stoppers was established in April of 2000, after Sheriff Bruce Bryant, then Solicitor Tommy Pope and then Rock Hill City Chief of Police Dave Fortson made an appeal to Leadership York County, a leadership development program sponsored by the York County Regional Chamber. The LYCO class took on the formation of a Crime Stoppers program as a class project.

The LYCO class did the necessary leg work in initial fund raising, forming a board of directors and establishing the program as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. The York County Sheriff’s Office took on the responsibility of the daily operations of the Crime Stoppers program.. The tip-line is housed at the Sheriff’s Office but the program exists for all law enforcement agencies in York County. Crime Stoppers of York County has also aided agencies in surrounding counties, and from time to time we receive information on crimes from other areas of the United States.

A few of the key points include, the tip-line is not recorded or traced, callers never have to give their name, cash rewards of up to $1,000 can be earned for information that leads to an arrest, the seizure of illegal drugs or the recovery of stolen property. The civilian Board of Directors is responsible for fund raising and oversight of the program.

The Law Enforcement Coordinator's one responsibilities include, seeing that the information on crimes gets to the correct law enforcement agency. Crime Stoppers is basically a conduit for information and the officers are credited with actually solving a case.

The media’s responsibility is to help get out, to the public, the information that would assist in getting the public involved. We utilize print, radio and television as well as the Internet.

Crime Stoppers of York County is one of the most active and successful Crime Stoppers programs in South Carolina. Crime Stoppers of York County is an active member of the Southeastern Crime Stoppers Association, an 11-state organization of Crime Stoppers programs. Crime Stoppers of York County has been recognized several times ove the years by being presented with awards for productivity, fundraising and creative advertising at the Southeastern Crime Stoppers Association’s annual conferences. The efforts and results put forth by Crime Stoppers of York County were judged against member Crime Stoppers programs, serving populations of similar size, in the 11-state area covered by this association.

If you need additional information, please contact the Crime Stoppers Coordinator, Sergeant Kevin Jones, at kevin.jones@yorkcountygov.com.