LIBERTY — Amite County supervisors will likely enter into a partnership with Crimestoppers of southwest Mississippi, but they said they need more information first.
Crimestoppers chairman Sam Sanders has been active in recent weeks to expand the reach of the program from Pike and Lincoln counties into surrounding counties.
On Wednesday, he encouraged Amite County to get on board.
“This is a program that has seen great success in Pike and Lincoln counties, and we believe it could have the same effect in Amite,” Sanders said.
Crimestoppers works with law enforcement agencies to siphon a small portion of misdemeanor fines to pay for rewards for anonymous tips that lead to arrests and indictments on criminal cases. It has been in operation across the United States since 1976.
Amite County Sheriff Tim Wroten suggested the program encompass the entire county.
“We need everyone in this, but I think it’s an excellent idea,” he said.
Under the partnership with the county, an additional $2 fee would be tacked on to misdemeanor fines, with the exception of traffic violations. The extra money would be put into a fund at the state level, which in turn would go into a Crimestoppers’ account.
Board attorney Reggie Jones said the board is agreeable, but supervisors need to hear more details, specifically who would be responsible for handling the fund.
Sanders said Trish Harbour of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety’s Crimestoppers Division would have the answers for them at a March meeting.
“Unfortunately, there are some questions I might not be able to answer that Trish knows about, but she couldn’t make it due to the flu,” Sanders said.
The board expects to sign a resolution that confirms the partnership between the county and Crimestoppers at a March meeting.
“We’ve been looking at it for a couple years now. Let’s see if we can get this thing going,” Wroten said.
