Monday, 2 February, 2009

This year, 94.7 Highveld Stereo and Talk Radio 702 will pay tribute to the country’s finest crime fighters.

Star of the Stars is a Primedia Broadcasting initiative conceptualised by Rude Awakening presenter Jeremy Mansfield and presented by Crime Line – an anti-crime campaign endorsed by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Each month, the SAPS will put forward names of men and women in blue that they feel have stepped up their efforts towards making South Africa safer on a daily basis.

The initiative will be specifically aimed at acknowledging officers who have excelled in acting on anonymous tip-offs received by Crime Line’s SMS line, 32211, and website, www.crimeline.co.za.

Nominees could include someone who has cracked the backbone of a crime syndicate; an officer who has gone beyond the call of duty to stop drug pedaling in their neighbourhood; or someone who has stopped a crime from happening.

All candidates will be announced on the first Monday of every month on both radio stations, as well as on Crime Line’s website, www.crimeline.co.za. Once a year, on Crime Line’s birthday in June an overall winner will be selected from the 12 finalists.

“One of the most important things in anyone’s career is recognition and recognising good police work is an important role for us,” said Jeremy Mansfield. “We’ve always believed in using our platform to highlight important causes and help where we can. With crime being such a crippling issue in our country supporting the police is one of the ways we hope to help tackle this problem.”

Yusuf Abramjee, head of Primedia’s Crime Line, believes this particular initiative will also go a long way in boosting police moral, which will hopefully in turn lead to more arrests.

“We have to acknowledge and award the outstanding work by SAPS members specifically on the Crime Line initiative. There is no doubt that we have many dedicated, committed and passionate police officers and their work can not go unnoticed,” said Abramjee.

“Since the launch of Crime Line in June 2007 there have been a substantial amount of arrests and convictions. The total number of arrests now stands at 615 and seizures amount to just over R24-million. Crime Line’s success would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment the police have shown. By making more and more people aware of Crime Line’s anonymous SMS tip-off line, 32211, we are all contributing to reclaiming our streets.”

Crime Line has the support of government, various NGOs, media organisations, companies and individuals. Recently a number of partners have come on board including SABC, Jacaranda 94.2, Algoa FM and various print media.

Crime Line is an anonymous tip-off service which appeals to the public to blow the whistle on criminals and it is based on the international Crimestoppers programme.

Back to Press Centre