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Regional WA urged to dob in a druggie

Regional Western Australians are being urged to put the finger on drug dealing next Tuesday, 1 July, by phoning Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 to report any unusual activity.

Regional WA Assistant Police Commissioner Graeme Lienert said the aim of the campaign was to highlight the negative impact that drug dealers have on our communities, including crime, violence, mental health issues and youth suicide.

“Drug dealers are criminals – they destroy lives and wreck communities, so we would ask everyone to call 1800 333 000 on 1 July if they know of, or have any information about drug dealing in their area,” Assistant Commissioner Lienert said.

"Drug use poses a huge social problem to regional towns and it’s time that we as a community stood up and made it clear that we’re not prepared to live with it anymore.

"All calls to Crime Stoppers are anonymous and any information that you think would be useful to police is welcomed. There are no implications for knowing information and rewards may be offered for information that leads to an arrest,” he said.

Assistant Commissioner Lienert said that Crime Stoppers WA relied on every small part of the “jigsaw puzzle” to help piece together information to charge and convict drug dealers.

“That information might include an address where a suspected drug dealer lives, locations where drugs are being grown or stored, a car registration, associations or any suspicious behaviour in your street.

“There is no safe level of drug use and drug dealers prey on the vulnerabilities of users for the benefit of one person and one person only – themselves.

“You might think that drugs don’t have a direct impact on your life, but it’s worth remembering that the next violent assault, robbery, overdose or suicide could very well involve someone you love.

“Crime Stoppers WA is your way to help your community to beat this cycle and put drug dealers behind bars where they belong. Keep your family and friends safer by calling 1800 333 000 on 1 July if you have any information to share.”

In the past 12 months, Crime Stoppers WA has received over 22,000 phone calls resulting in nearly 800 arrests.

Since it was first established in 1995, more than $4.4 million in stolen property and $34.7 million worth of drugs has been recovered. In addition, 448 public rewards totalling more than $180,000 have gone into Western Australian pockets.

All calls to Crime Stoppers remain completely anonymous, with phones manned by trained police officers seven days a week.

* Please note - the author is engaged by Crime Stoppers to provide public relations services.