Crime Stoppers has abruptly cancelled a heavily criticized awareness campaign in Newfoundland that included “anonymous” posters describing violent crimes.
Residents and business owners said the monochrome posters – describing crimes like robberies and assaults and signed “anonymous” without further explanation – offered a misleading picture of downtown St. John’s.
“We market our downtown for tourists and locals alike as a place to come and spend some time and some money, and these posters just made everything seem a little unsafe, dangerous,” Matt Howse, owner of Broken Books on Duckworth Street, said Wednesday.
The campaign, which also included radio ads, was scheduled to run until June 21 in the northeast Avalon region, including the city of St. John’s.
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Newfoundland and Labrador Crime Stoppers had issued a statement Tuesday defending “Project Anonymous,” saying it was meant to remind people of the organization’s anonymous reporting principle, rather than comment on community crime.
It said the campaign was intended to “create a conversation,” and promised a second phase was about to begin.
By Wednesday morning, however, Crime Stoppers announced it was pulling the plug, saying it expected “debate and discussion” but “did not foresee the negative messaging received.”
“We thank those who supported the effort as well as those who voiced their comments and concerns,” the statement read.
“We ask everyone to remember that Crime Stoppers is a tool in the safety of our communities and as a charitable volunteer organization, the intent was and always will be for the positive good.”
The city of St. John’s had responded to early criticism on Twitter, writing that it gave permission for campaign posters in a heritage area but “did not approve the content,” and directed complaints to Crime Stoppers.
Before Crime Stoppers officially cancelled the campaign, deputy mayor Sheilagh O’Leary said the organization had requested anonymity for the campaign, and noted on Twitter: “I agree this has now proven problematic.”
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She wrote she did “not agree at all with the messaging” and said she would make her comments known to Crime Stoppers.
In a statement Wednesday, Mayor Danny Breen thanked Crime Stoppers for responding to concerns, indicating the city’s openness to continued to work with the organization.
“We thank Crime Stoppers for listening to the concerns of residents and business operators regarding the content of the recent campaign,” Breen’s statement read.
“Crime prevention is important, and we recognize the intention of this volunteer-based organization is to help make our community a safer place for all.”
Howse said he and other business owners were puzzled about the secrecy around the poster campaign rollout and its “creepy” messages.
Howse said residents following local news reports seemed aware of the posters’ origins, but some “perplexed tourists” visiting his store asked what the signs meant and who had put them up.
Howse said the signs first popped up a week before the campaign’s cancellation. Many were torn down over the last week.
“We were happy to see that there were a lot of people who agreed with us and of their own volition just tore them all down. They weren’t up very long,” he said.
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