Praise for crime combat callers

All calls made to the Crimestoppers hotline are anonymous

Callers to the Isle of Man's Crimestoppers service have been praised for their contribution to combating anti-social behaviour on the island.

Annual statistics have placed the service eighth among 39 regional Crimestoppers boards.

The service received 196 actionable calls which provided useful information to help police in their enquiries.

Local board members said the figures underlined the important contribution made by islanders.

Phil O'Shea, chairman of Isle of Man Crimestoppers, said the service had "proved its worth" on the island.

"We focus on crimes specifically affecting the island such as criminal damage, theft and drug offences and would rather have 20 calls about the same incident than none at all."

In July 2007 a total of 24 actionable calls were received compared with five in July 2006.

The Crimestoppers service was established in the island in 1998 and since then has generated almost 2,000 calls.

The charity is independent of the police and government and any calls to it are handled off-island with an assurance of anonymity for the caller.