HISTORY OF CRIME SOLVERS

The Crime Stoppers concept was born out of a tragic crime that occurred in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where traditional methods of crime investigation were not able to solve the horrific murder.

When a young college student, Michael Carmen, was shot to death during a robbery at an Albuquerque, New Mexico gas station in July 1976, Detective Greg MacAleese had no idea who was responsible for the killing.

No witnesses came forward and it appeared the senseless and brutal shotgun slaying would remain a mystery.

MacAleese, who worked for a newspaper before joining the Albuquerque Police Department, knew something innovative would be necessary to encourage the public to get involved and help solve the murder.

He conceived the idea of producing a video re-enactment of the homicide, guaranteed anonymity for anyone who was willing to call him with information and put up a reward from his own pocket to encourage someone to provide a lead that would help identify those responsible for the murder of Carmen.

It seemed almost unnecessary to take such extraordinary steps to solve the killing of Carmen. It was a case that should have outraged the community and brought forth many witnesses.

Carmen was only two weeks away from getting married and had taken an extra shift at the gas station to give a co-worker the night off. When police responded to an emergency call they found Carmen gravely wounded. He'd been shot in the abdomen at point blank range with a 12-guage shotgun.

The medical staff kept him alive for four hours and during that time he tried to tell detectives who was responsible, but he just didn't have the strength to form the words.

At that time Albuquerque had one of the highest per capita crime rates in the US and people were afraid to help the police.

MacAleese’s plan to identify those responsible for killing Carmen worked. Within a few hours after the recreation of the murder was broadcast on television station KOAT, he received a phone call. The video image had triggered the memory of a person who heard a loud bang in the vicinity of the gas bar and then saw a car driving off. The caller told MacAleese the vehicle belonged to a resident in a nearby apartment complex.

Through investigation MacAleese and a team of detectives arrested two men within 72 hours and charged them with the murder of Carmen and a string of armed robberies.

MacAleese received other calls following the reenactment, including one that allowed police to solve the rape of a young woman. Realizing that this type of program might be useful in fighting crime, MacAleese convinced the Albuquerque Police Department to allow a group of citizens to establish the first Crime Stoppers program.

For his efforts Detective MacAleese was named one of the people in the 1970's who changed the face of the United States and was also named the country's Police officer of the Year. It's also interesting to note that since adopting Crime Stoppers Albuquerque's crime rate has dropped significantly and no longer is ranked in the list of 20 cities with the highest per capita crime rate.

Word spread quickly regarding this incident and soon they were other U.S. programs. Crime Stoppers U.S.A. was formed. In 1982, Calgary, Canada (Followed closely by Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto) started a program thus in 1984 Crime Stoppers International was born.

Crime Stoppers International is the largest crime fighting organization in the world with programs operating in some 20 countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada and the United States.

Virginia Beach Crime Solvers was founded in 1982, to promote the welfare of the community and to lessen the burdens of the federal and local government by;

• Assisting law enforcement agencies in the apprehension and conviction of criminals, recovery of stolen property and illegal narcotics

• Advise & train law enforcement personnel & the community.

• Helping motivate the public to cooperate with law enforcement agencies

• Stimulate and encourage the flow of information to, among and between law enforcement agencies.

• Creating and circulating films, videos, sound tapes and printed material about crime prevention and Crime Solvers.