Patterned after the National Crime Stoppers program, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Crime Stoppers was formed in 1982 when then Mayor Eddie Knox helped a volunteer force raise over $114,000 in private donations to begin the reward fund. 

In 1994, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Crimes Stoppers became an independent non-profit organization totally responsible for the program’s management. An independent board of directors was formed to oversee management, program development and fundraising. In 1994 the organization received its 501 (c) (3) non-profit charitable status, thus making all contribution tax deductible to contributors.

Since our founding Charlotte-Mecklenburg Crime Stoppers has distributed nearly $288,085 in cash rewards to concerned citizens and approved nearly $472,740 in cash rewards. In doing so over 3,000 arrests have been made, over 5,351 cases cleared and over $5 million in property has been recovered. To date over 30,886 calls have been made the tip line. 

In 2005, Crime Stoppers engaged a 24-hour tip line for calls to operators who are bi-lingual. This has dramatically increased the number of tips received and addresses the rapidly growing diversity of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area.