Saskatoon Crime Stoppers has proved it’s one of the best units in the world after winning two awards at a Crime Stoppers International conference in Singapore.
The unit took home the Best Media Digital and Best Productivity awards in a market under 300,000 people.
A few years ago, the team decided to approach social media in a different way. Humour is incorporated in many posts, which has helped with engagement in the community.
The Saskatoon Crime Stoppers’ Facebook page has the most followers of any Crime Stoppers page in North America and is also one of the top ones in the world. Its Facebook page following has grown exponentially since 2017. It went from having less than 600 followers in 2017 to 31,000 in 2018. It now has over 40,000 followers.
The success of the unit has also inspired other Crime Stoppers units around the world to approach social media with more humour.
Saskatoon Crime Stoppers board of directors executive member Brian Swidrovich said the engagement on social media has helped the organization with productivity. Since its inception in 1987, over 30,000 tips have led to over 2,000 arrests.
“In 2018 and 2019, we were No. 1 in the world as far as tips leading to arrests,” Swidrovich said.
Saskatoon Crime Stoppers will continue utilizing social media to the best of its ability. Const. Mikhaila Bird recently took over as the Saskatoon Crime Stoppers co-ordinator, and Swidrovich said she is already coming up with ways to keep the community engaged.