‘They don’t necessarily want the money’: Why thousands turn to Greater KC Crime Stoppers hotline

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.

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Leaders with the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline held its 32nd annual Crime Stoppers Golf Classic at Drumm Farm Golf Club on Monday.

On average, the nonprofit budgets to raise $50,000 a year for tip payouts. Kevin Boehm, interim coordinator for the local Crime Stoppers nonprofit, says most of those funds are raised during the golf classic.

But Boehm said money is not Crime Stoppers' biggest selling point — it's the anonymity.

“Seventy percent of the tips we approve for an award are never collected because, truly, it’s the anonymity component that people are interested in," he said. "They don’t necessarily want the money — they’re doing it for the right reasons.” 

Following his 29-year stint with the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, Mike West began answering anonymous calls for the TIPS Hotline.

In 28 years, one anonymous tip stood out to him the most.

“Back in 2002, the Ali Kemp murder over in Leawood," West said.

Following her death, Ali's father Roger Kemp led a billboard campaign with a sketch of the possible killer.

Sketch artist Lee Hammond created a sketch of the suspect, which included the phone number for the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline.

Courtesy: Lee Hammond

West said he answered one of two calls the hotline received that led to the arrest of Benjamin Appleby.

"The one I took was very basic. It more or less gave a name and a location where he was last known to live," West said.

Appleby is currently serving a 50-year sentence in a Kansas prison for the murder of Kemp.

The tip West received is one example of how a small piece of information can help lead detectives in the right direction.

Chris Morrison/KSHB

“A lot of times, they do just need a small piece of the puzzle that will help them or steer them toward where they need to go with the investigation, and that’s what the tips from the community do for them," said Boehm, a former KCPD detective.

In 32 years, the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline has received over 179,130 anonymous tips. The nonprofit says the tips have helped clear more than 25,920 crimes, including 693 homicides, and has assisted in 11,703 felony arrests.

Because Crime Stoppers runs independently from law enforcement agencies, the tips it receives are completely anonymous.

Chris Morrison/KSHB

"They don’t have to worry about giving testimony in court; they don’t have to worry about witness statements, all that stuff," Boehm said. "They don’t have to worry about being a snitch, so they’re comfortable reporting to us anonymously what they saw. A lot of times, that completely breaks open a case.”

Through the Scholastic Crime Stoppers program, Boehm has seen the preventative impacts the nonprofit has had on local schools, too.

“We’ve actually prevented 20 suicides from students in the greater Kansas City area," Boehm said. "As recent as three weeks ago was our 20th. We’ve also prevented two potential mass shootings in the Kansas City area from information that we’ve received.”

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If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.

Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.

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