John Sherin helps solve crimes over the phone. The retired Lake County sheriff’s detective is the police coordinator for Lake County Crime Stoppers, a service that rewards callers who supply valuable information about crimes.
Since its inception, Crime Stoppers has given out $344,000 in rewards and recovered $9.4 million in stolen property, illegal drugs and cash. Last year, tips to Crime Stoppers helped police make 187 arrests. Callers can receive cash rewards up to $1,000 and remain anonymous.
The program began in 1981 as Waukegan Crime Stoppers and two years later was expanded to cover the entire county. It’s now headquartered at the Grayslake Police Department.
Q: Where does Crime Stoppers get its reward money?
A: We get our reward money from donations, from the community, police departments, the courts and the state’s attorney.
Q: How do you determine how much reward money someone will get?
A: There’s no set amount. We go by the type of crime. If the caller worked along with an undercover agent or stuck his neck out a little more than a telephone call, the detective on the case will tell me. We don’t advertise any set amount because people might call to say their neighbor is kicking his dog or something like that. We’re open to any call; we just can’t make any promises on how much they’re going to receive. If it’s a dangerous case, someone with narcotics or bank robbery, we’ll pay more, like for homicide, which is up to $1,000.
Q: How much do the callers have to cooperate?
A: Sometimes we’ll ask them if they’re willing to work with an undercover agent. If they don’t want to, we won’t push it because they may be too close to the action. They may be afraid.
Q: Many callers may be concerned about anonymity. What do you tell them?
A: I never ask for a name, telephone number or address. I have no idea who these people are. We have a code number that we give them.
Q: Do you get a sense people want to get involved in their community?
A: Yes. I think a lot of people do call in that respect, and I mention to them that if an arrest is made with this information, they will be eligible for a cash reward. But I think the original call is based on helping their family and their community.
Q: What are the more common types of calls you get?
A: The No. 1 call would be for narcotics. Then it gets down to criminal damage to property, burglary, and then you’ve got robberies and homicides. If anyone has information on a crime that has been committed or is being committed, give us a call. We will definitely do something with it and pass it on to the proper authorities. The number is 847-662-2222.
