Campbell River Crime Stoppers, once on the verge of disappearing, has made an outstanding turnaround — receiving international recognition with the 2025 Community Engagement and Awareness Award (community of up to 300,000).
According to a release from Crime Stoppers International, the program was first established in 1997 and was once an award‑winning initiative within the community. During and after the COVID‑19 pandemic, volunteer numbers dropped, almost shutting down the program entirely.
Since then, a complete rebuild has helped transform Campbell River Crime Stoppers into a model of success and community engagement.
“We are proud to congratulate the 2025 winner – Campbell River Crime Stoppers, Canada – for its successful revitalisation of the program, the modernisation of its messaging, and the embrace of social media to better reach and engage its community,” Crime Stoppers International said in its announcement. “These efforts have led to a remarkable 28 percent increase in tips, reflecting the power of clear communication, community trust and digital outreach in advancing the Crime Stoppers mission.”
In the past three years the program has taken a new approach — using modern messaging, social‑media outreach and renewed partnerships across the North Island. The result has been a 28 per cent increase in tips, a significant rise in arrests and seizures of drugs and proceeds of crime, and a digital presence of more than one million views on Facebook in Oct. 2025 alone.
“This is a win for our entire region,” said President Anais Barnes, who encouraged the team to submit the program for consideration. “It shows that even small communities can achieve world‑class results when people unite around public safety.”
Program coordinator Graeme Duffy said he is very thankful.
“I’m grateful for every volunteer, board member and partner who believed in the rebuild,” Duffy said. “This recognition belongs to everyone who helped bring this program back to life — including community stakeholders such as the Rotary Club of Campbell River, Capital Power and Mosaic Forest Products, whose continued support has been invaluable.”
Campbell River Crime Stoppers operates in partnership with the City of Campbell River, the Campbell River RCMP Detachment and a volunteer board, and promotes safety in the region through outreach, education and collaboration.
