VIDEO: A New Crime Fighting Tool Is Coming To Winona

WINONA, Miss. (WCBI) – A new crime fighting tool is coming to Winona. Crime Stoppers is a worldwide organization that helps fight crime in the community.

Winona City Council Members passed a resolution to join forces with the group.

Crime Stoppers already exists in Montgomery County, but this will be the first time for Winona to have it, and they’re ready for it.

It’s as simple as picking up the phone, dialing a number, and reporting what you know about a crime.

“It’s all confidential. No one ever, you know, the person who calls in with the information, they’re not obligated to be a witness, but when they turn in the information, and then if it goes through, then they are given a reward for it,” Mayor Jerry Flowers.

The reward money comes from people who break the law, and Montgomery County has been using the extra $2 dollars tacked onto fines to help catch bad guys since 2011.

“The funds in Crime Stoppers now, have been put through, or through assessments on traffic tickets and misdemeanor fines that have been heard in Montgomery County Justice Court, and Winona, even though we’re in Montgomery County, has it’s own court system, so fines and fees through the city of Winona have not gone into Crime Stoppers,” says Monntgomery County Crime Stoppers President, Sharon Kent.

Winona Police Chief Tommy Bibbs is looking forward to the day the combined group goes into effect.

“In law enforcement, you need every tool that’s out there to help you catch folks breaking the law, so you know, this is just another avenue that we can use to help people. We need all the help we can get,” says Bibbs.

That’s why Mayor Flowers thinks it’s beneficial for every town to have.

“I think there are a lot of them that do it, and if they’re not, I think they need to do it. I think it’s just a good way to entice people to come forward with information that they might know about a crime, and again, I want to stress that that to me, I mean that’s great if it helps solve crimes, but I also like the idea that we can use it to help improve the community relationships with the police department and the city of Winona.”