An NBC Bay Area investigation found that even though an organization called Oakland Crime Stoppers was offering financial rewards for information leading to an arrest, they can’t access their bank account, and their nonprofit status has been suspended for years.
Oftentimes when you read crime stories on SFist or other publications, the article ends with a notice of “If you know anything, call the such-and-such police department at such-and-such phone number.” When the crime stories are about Oakland, that notice will often cite an organization called Oakland Crime Stoppers, who step in and offer a reward for information leading to an arrest. One example of these reward offers is seen below.
We’ve published these reward offers in countless articles on this site. But a shocking new NBC Bay Area report notes that Oakland Crime Stoppers has not paid these rewards in more three years, as the organization apparently cannot even access its own bank account, and may have deeper financial troubles.
NBC Bay Area found that “the [Oakland Police] department has promised reward money in at least seven cases,” knowing that Oakland Crime Stoppers currently cannot pay this reward money. That outlet also notes that an “Oakland Crime Stoppers board member confirmed the organization hasn’t given out a single reward since January 2021.”
The Oakland Police Department said in a statement to NBC Bay Area that "In 2022, the fund was closed, and communication was affected. While there were some challenges, there was never any intention to mislead the public. The Department values collaboration with the group, as it plays a vital role in the betterment of our community. We plan to work with the board to get things back up and running.”
But NBC Bay Area dug a little deeper, and found that Oakland Crime Stoppers’ status as a California nonprofit lapsed way back in October 2008. Moreover, its board of directors, which approves reward money disbursements, has not met in more than three years.
Oakland Crime Stoppers is not affiliated with the national organization Crime Stoppers USA, which does similar work on a nationwide basis. And Crime Stoppers USA is furious with the reputational damage from a similarly named organization.
“I’m outraged,” Crime Stoppers USA director of legal services Richard Carter told NBC Bay Area. “That’s inexcusable. That’s not how you run a Crime Stoppers organization.”
“In some states that is a violation of deceptive trade practices,” he added. “I would worry that the Attorney General of the state of California might get involved.”
In other words, Crime Stoppers of Oakland could potentially be found to be themselves breaking the law.
Image: Joe Kukura, SFist
