• Project:Alley Cat
On april 5, 2008, The GBA Crimestoppers joined forces with the Police Dept. to clean up the areas of Beloit and South Beloit of graffiti. Over 150 citizens and CS volunteers attended. Over 37 sites in the Stateline Area were freed of the graffiti. Special thanks to Ace hardware, Economy Laundry, Sherwin Williams, Water Dragon, Paragon Screen Printing and Drevdahl Auto Body for donations to help make this event possible.

• Cruise Night 2008
CS is sponcering the 4th Annual Cruise night on September 20th in downtown Beloit. Music, entertainment, 50/50 raffle, food and beverages will be available from 12 noon until 10 p.m. Burn out pit will be open throughout the event for a minimal fee of $5.00. A family event where one can see muscle, classic, antique, and hotrods.

• $5000 grant awarded to Greater Beloit Area Crime Stoppers
October 2007 Azko Nobel awarded the GBACS a $5000 donation to be used for community purposes.Some of the money was used to sponcer rec nights at the middle schools and the Beloit Memorial High School Key Club dance.

• 2008 Crime Stoppers Coordinator
Beloit Police Chief Sam Lathrop appointed retired police officer Bob Fluegel to the coordinators postion. Bob was a police officer for 24 1/2 years and recently retired in December of 2007. Many changes have been made to the program including a cell phone which is carried 24/7. Also new, the Crime Stopper logo and information is printed on the back of all police officers business cards. The CS organization will have a record number of board members attending the state Crime Stoppers conference this month.

• National Night Out
The 25th National Night Out anniversary will be held on August 05,2008, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. This it the time when neighbors get together to know one another better and strengthen neighborhood spirit. NNO is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support for and participation in and local anti-crime programs.
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About Crime Stoppers

When a young college student, Michael Carmen, was shot to death during a robbery at an Albuquerque, New Mexico gas station in July 1976, Detective Greg MacAleese had no idea who was responsible for the killing.

No witnesses came forward and it appeared the senseless and brutal shotgun slaying would remain a mystery.

MacAleese, who worked for a newspaper before joining the Albuquerque Police Department, knew something innovative would be necessary to encourage the public to get involved and help solve the murder.

He conceived the idea of producing a video re-enactment of the homicide, guaranteed anonymity for anyone who was willing to call him with information and put up a reward from his own pocket to encourage someone to provide a lead that would help identify those responsible for the murder of Carmen.

It seemed almost unnecessary to take such extraordinary steps to solve the killing of Carmen. It was a case that should have outraged the community and brought forth many witnesses.

Carmen was only two weeks away from getting married and had taken an extra shift at the gas station to give a co-worker the night off. When police responded to an emergency call they found Carmen gravely wounded. He's been shot in the abdomen at point blank range with a 12-guage shotgun.

The medical staff kept him alive for four hours and during that time he tried to tell detectives who was responsible, but he just didn't have the strength to form the words.

At that time Albuquerque had one of the highest per capita crime rates in the country and people were afraid to help the police.

MacAleese plan to identify those responsible for killing Carmen worked. Within a few hours after the recreation of the murder was broadcast on television station KOAT, he received a phone call. The video image had triggered the memory of a person who heard a loud bang in the vicinity of the gas bar and then saw a car driving off. The caller told MacAleese the vehicle belonged to a resident in a nearby apartment complex.

Through investigation MacAleese and a team of detectives arrested two men within 72 hours and charged them with the murder of Carmen and a string of armed robberies.

MacAleese received other calls following the reenactment, including one that allowed police to solve the rape of a young woman. Realizing that this type of program might be useful in fighting crime, MacAleese convinced the Albuquerque Police Department to allow a group of citizens to establish the first Crime Stoppers program.

For his efforts Detective MacAleese was named one of the people in the 1970's who changed the face of the United States and was also named the country's Police officer of the Year. It's also interesting to note that since adopting Crime Stoppers Albuquerque's crime rate has dropped significantly and no longer is ranked in the list of 20 cities with the highest per capita crime rate.

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