History
The National Crime Stoppers Program
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's been shot in the abdomen at point blank range with a 12-gauge 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 country and people were afraid to help the police.
MacAleese 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.
Milwaukee Crime Stoppers, Inc.
A group comprised of Milwaukee Alderwoman Chantia Lewis, CBS 58 co-anchor Amanda Porterfield and Wisconsin State Crime Stoppers President K. Scott Abrams initiated and formed the organization that would eventually be known as Milwaukee Crime Stoppers, Inc. In June 2018, the incorporating Board of Directors submitted, and received approval, for the Articles of Incorporation from the State of Wisconsin.
The newly elected Board of Directors developed the bylaws, along with policies and procedures, that would guide the organization through its initial organizational processes. After receiving initial funding, the Milwaukee Crime Stoppers was officially launched in October 2019. The organization subsequently filed, and received approval, from the Internal Revenue Service as a charitable, tax-exempt organization as well as achieving charitable status from the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions allowing Milwaukee Crime Stoppers to receive tax deductible donations.
The organization continues to operate similar to other Crime Stoppers programs throughout the country, asking the public to provide information anonymously about crimes and/or criminals through a local phone number, web tips or through aa smart phone app. Based on the quality and quantity of the tip information provided, the anonymous tipster may be eligible for a cash reward to a maximum of $1000.