University Crime Stoppers programs are few and far between. They are also hard to keep going because they tend not to get as many tips as a city or county Crime Stoppers program does. And while MTSU’s program has not had as many tips as we would like, it still serves a vital role in the campus community. Thanks to our unique arrangement with the Rutherford County Crime Stoppers Board of Directors and the hard work of our program’s founders, MTSU Crime Stoppers has been able to be proactive instead of just reactive when it comes to crime. After all, it is better to prevent a crime than to have to solve one. We issue crime prevention tips, give presentations, and created a number of public service announcements for television that not only advertised our program, but also help to increase awareness about certain types of crimes on campus.

Before its creation, MTSU Crime Stoppers was nothing more than idea in the heads of then Officer Rick Roberts and Assistant Police Chief John Wagoner (both of whom have moved on). On November 11, 1995 it became a reality with the help of Rutherford County Crime Stoppers Coordinator Lt. Clyde Adkison, a person who saw a lot of merit in this fledgling idea. Since then the Board of Directors has, for the most part, changed and so has the program by growing and developing new ways to prevent and solve crimes, as well as get the word out about the program. This lead to the point where we began receiving tips on crimes and actually solved our first crime March of 1999. This was a milestone that resulted in $500 being paid to the tipsters.

What makes this program unique is three fold. 

• First it is a branch of the Rutherford County Crime Stoppers program. 
• Second it pays for tips on misdemeanors that result in arrests, as long as the misdemeanors were committed on property owned by MTSU. 
• Third, as mentioned above, there are very few university Crime Stoppers programs. This is a uniqueness that helps us in our continuing effort to make our campus a safer and better place to visit, attend classes, work, and live.

We look forward to your continued help and support.