Lancaster County Crime Stoppers adapts to changing times

• By Dan Nephin/LNP | LancasterOnline

Used to be, Lancaster County Crime Stoppers had an 800 number that people could call to provide tips anonymously — and possibly collect up to $1,000 for helping solve a case. Its announcements ran in LNP | LancasterOnline. Flyers were posted in convenience stores, the county courthouse, district judge offices and the county prison.

The program was successful, but people have changed how they get and share information, according to Michael Winters, deputy chief county detective and the office’s liaison to Crime Stoppers’s board. 

Calls to Crime Stoppers’s 800 number dwindled to the point that it wasn’t worth the cost of maintaining a line. The last newspaper announcement was two years ago.

And police departments now post about crimes to their online Crimewatch pages, though they don’t always include information about Crime Stoppers and its offer of anonymity and rewards.

“Everything that we do, we try to do with confidentiality in mind, because people are calling or providing information. And generally speaking, they’d like to do it anonymously to protect themselves, their families, and they might even have a close relationship with the person that they’re giving information on,” Winters said Tuesday.

Realizing its communication model needed to adapt with the times, Crime Stoppers is trying to beef up its social media presence and is distributing business cards with QR codes that can be used to access the online tip submission page on its website, lancaster.crimewatchpa.com/crimestoppers.

“The plan is to distribute the cards to the local police departments and then encourage them to use them in situations where they’re interacting with people (who) maybe are reluctant to give information about a case standing next to a cop,” Winters said.

Effective service

Crime Stoppers has been helpful to law enforcement and wants to remain so, Winters said.

The program launched in 1987 as a partnership between the Kiwanis Club of Lancaster, city police and the Lancaster County Chiefs of Police Association. It was then known as Lancaster City-County Crime Stoppers and was the 11th such organization in Pennsylvania.

When Kiwanis dissolved in 2011, Crime Stoppers became an independent charity. 

Crime Stoppers has been credited with helping resolve hundreds of crimes and has paid out more $100,000 in rewards. 

In 2023, a tip to Crime Stoppers led to the arrest in Tennessee of Jerbrell Westmoreland, Winters said.

Westmoreland is one of two men charged in the Nov. 28, 2022, shooting at Prince of Subs in Lancaster city that killed Luis Sanchez, 29, and injured security guard Chris Johnson.

Westmoreland and codefendant Ziair Collymore are awaiting trial, scheduled for next March.

Crime Stoppers has also been credited with helping solve the 2014 killing of teacher Nicole Mathewson in her Lancaster apartment and the 2007 killing of Ray Diener in West Donegal Township.

Crime Stoppers is also offering a reward for information on the theft of about 100 bronze vases taken from a Columbia cemetery in May.

“We have to prioritize which cases we’re going to feature at any given time. The most serious cases will probably get featured first, but we’re certainly not turning anyone away,” he said.

Another thing that’s changed over the years is the value of a dollar. Adjusted for inflation, $1,000 in 1987 is now worth about $2,800.

Winters said he couldn’t speak for Crime Stopper’s board, but said members are open to requests and recommendations for higher awards, if the situation warrants it.

And not everyone is looking for reward, Winters said. 

“They just felt it was their responsibility. Like, ‘I know this person. I work with this person, this person’s my cousin. I’m not pleased with what they did,’” he said. These types of Crime Stoppers users are “not necessarily calling because they want a reward, but they just know that this is an avenue that they can give that information and no one’s going to find out who they are.”

Crime Stoppers operates solely on donations.

In May 2024, Michael Landis, Crime Stopper’s secretary, wrote a column saying the program was facing financial challenges. Winters said he believes the program is stable now, but donations are welcome.