HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - Tips received by the Crime Line in 2020 led to nearly 300 cases being solved in Hampton Roads.
That means almost $60,000 in stolen property was recovered and $20,000 worth of illegal drugs were taken off the streets.
To reward the people who helped in these cases, the Crime Line boards in each city paid out about $30,000 altogether.
They would have paid even more, but some people who reported tips didn't want the money.
That money all comes from donations and fundraisers.
Although police are the ones solving the crimes, Crime Line boards are made up of private citizens just looking to make their communities safer.
All tips reported to the 1-888-LOCK-U-UP number or P3 app are anonymous, and tipsters never have to testify in court.
Here's a breakdown of the 2020 numbers from each Crime Line board in our region:
Chesapeake
- 20 arrests
- 473 tips received
- $5,470 in reward money approved
- Value of recovered property - $500
- Value of recovered drugs - $2,500
- Recovered currency - $5,600
Isle of Wight/Smithfield/Windsor
- 62 tips received
Norfolk
- 21 arrests
- 726 tips received
- $6,130 in reward money approved
- Value of recovered drugs - $9,152
Portsmouth
- 2 arrests
- 341 tips received
- $1,240 in reward money approved
Suffolk
- 4 arrests
- 172 tips received
- $910 in reward money approved
Virginia Beach
- 98 arrests
- 1,019 tips received
- $20,199 in reward money approved
- Value of recovered property - $48,300
- Value of recovered drugs - $6,7770
- Recovered currency - $22,827
Virginia Peninsula (Gloucester County, Hampton, James City County, Newport News, Poquoson, Williamsburg, York County)
- 65 arrests
- 1,047 tips received
- $16,815 in reward money approved
- Value of recovered property - $11,528
- Value of recovered drugs - $2,380
- Firearms recovered - 12
