Crime Stoppers Queensland, a charity providing an anonymous crime reporting service, is transitioning to a more centralised, scalable and digitally capable operating model to ensure it can continue to effectively support Queensland Police and the community into the future.
Importantly, there are no changes to how the public can anonymously report information. The Crime Stoppers phone number, online reporting channels and anonymity protections remain the same.
The changes relate to how Crime Stoppers engages with the community and delivers awareness and outreach activities.
For more than 30 years, Crime Stoppers has operated through a volunteer-led, locally based committee model. That model has made a significant contribution to community safety across Queensland, and Crime Stoppers sincerely acknowledges and thanks the many volunteers who have supported this work.
Crime Stoppers Queensland CEO David Hansen said: "Crime Stoppers has a proud history built on the dedication of volunteers across Queensland, and that contribution cannot be overstated."
"The organisation needs to evolve however in response to changing community engagement patterns, technology and crime itself," Mr Hansen said.
"Our challenge is that the way people engage with organisations has changed significantly, as have the regulatory and technology environments. Today, more awareness and reporting is driven through digital and media channels, while governance, safety and compliance requirements have also increased."
In response, Crime Stoppers Queensland is transitioning to a sustainable model that better balances statewide campaigns, partnership growth and support, and digital engagement, with a smaller number of local community-based volunteer roles.
"This is not about a like-for-like replacement of volunteer roles," Mr Hansen said.
"It's about ensuring we can reach increasingly diverse Queensland communities more consistently, using a mix of modern communication channels, partnership amplification, and targeted local engagement, rather than relying so much on traditional event-based outreach often with similar audiences."
It is envisaged that new volunteer ambassador roles will focus on maintaining strong local connections by working with community leaders, organisations and personal networks, helping to facilitate partnerships and support targeted engagement where it is most effective. Further detail will soon be available to our existing volunteers in the first instance.
Crime Stoppers Queensland acknowledges there may be questions about whether fewer formal roles can deliver the same impact but believes the transition to a new approach, holistically, will significantly improve overall effectiveness.
"We are combining local knowledge and more coordinated statewide activity with partnership amplification opportunities, media and digital reach. These are now the primary ways the vast majority of Queenslanders engage with our organisation," Mr Hansen said.
"This change will allow us to engage with hundreds of thousands more Queenslanders and encourage more anonymous reports than we have been able to achieve in recent years, despite the dedicated efforts of our volunteers at local community events," he said.
Crime Stoppers also recognises that the transition is significant for volunteers, many of whom have contributed decades of service, and stresses it does not reflect on their performance or commitment, which is highly valued and has been central to the organisation's success to this point.
"We will be working hard to keep our volunteers informed during this staged transition and will be ensuring we respect their legacy and acknowledge them in local appreciation events wherever possible," Mr Hansen said.
Crime Stoppers Queensland remains focused on its core purpose – generating timely, anonymous and actionable information to help keep Queensland communities safe – and this change is about ensuring it can continue to deliver on that purpose into the future for all Queenslanders.
To make an anonymous report, contact Crime Stoppers Queensland at 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppersqld.com.au
About us:
About Crime Stoppers Queensland
Crime Stoppers empowers Australians to stop, solve and prevent crime. Our trusted information reporting service gives people with the opportunity to share what they know about unsolved crimes and suspicious activity without saying who they are. Established in 1989 as an independent not-for-profit registered charity, we work closely with police, media and the community to help solve, reduce and prevent crime by collecting information and passing on those details to police and other law enforcement agencies to help keep communities and families safe.
