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Kingstree Council approves $500 donation to Crime Stoppers of the Pee Dee
Summary
Captain Timothy McFadden asked Kingstree officials to support Crime Stoppers of the Pee Deea1s anonymous tip program; Council approved a $500 donation and was told the nonprofit currently pays up to $1,000 per tip and hopes to raise its maximum reward.
Captain Timothy McFadden, coordinator for Crime Stoppers of the Pee Dee and a Florence County Sheriff's Office captain, told the Kingstree Town Council on Nov. 17 that the nonprofit provides a "100% anonymous" tip system serving seven counties including Williamsburg. He said tips are routed through an external call center and forwarded to local law enforcement after his office sanitizes identifying information.
McFadden said tipsters receive a unique code they must retain to claim any reward and that Crime Stoppers pays rewards based on arrest information rather than conviction. He told the council that, from October 2020 to January 2022, Williamsburg County received 41 tips and Crime Stoppers of the Pee Dee paid $650 in rewards for those cases. He said the program currently pays up to $1,000 per crime and aspires to increase the maximum reward to $2,000 to encourage more reporting.
Councilman C.M. (Bubba) Hammet moved to approve a $500 donation to Crime Stoppers; Councilman Stan Williamson seconded the motion, and the council approved it unanimously. The donation was presented as support for the nonprofita1s outreach and operations; McFadden noted the organization is funded entirely by donations and fundraising and operates as a 501(c)(3).
The town did not specify the budget line or fund source for the $500 donation during the meeting. Captain McFadden identified the tip hotline (1-888-CRIME-SC) and the P3 mobile app as methods residents can use to report information anonymously.
The council moved on to other agenda items after the vote.
